UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES 

IN  ENGLAND 

BEFORE  HANDEL 


BY 

A.  JOSEPH  ARMSTRONG 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCMOOL  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


•  >   >  > 


BAYLOR  UNIVERSITY  BULLETIN  NO.  4 

WACO.  TEXAS 

1918 


AIL  17  3/ 
A7 


PRINTED  BY 

BAYLOR  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

WACO,  TEXAS 


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I  •  •  •  ( 

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PREFACE 

No  field  in  Enjflish  Literature  has  received  less  attention 
than  that  of  the  heroic  drama,  and  inseparably  connected 
with  this  is  the  so-called  literary  opera,  for  the  composers 
who  wrote  the  one,  also  wrote  the  other.  I  have  chronicled 
the  rise  and  progress  of  the  English  opera  from  1656,  the 
date  of  its  initial  performance,  until  the  introduction  in 
1710  of  Italian  librettos  by  Handel  and  his  co-workers. 
Little  or  nothing  has  been  written  on  the  consecutive  history 
of  the  opera  between  those  two  dates.  The  works  them- 
selves are  not  ciisily  available  and  for  that  reason  I  have 
given  epitomes  of  the  operas  and  I  have  collected  many 
facts  concerning  this  excrescence  of  literature.  I  have  read 
every  extant  opera,  many  of  which  are  to  be  found  only 
in  the  library  of  the  British  Museum. 

My  indebtedness  to  the  librarians  of  Havard  and  Co- 
lumbia Colleges,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the 
Congressional  Library  and  of  the  British  Museum,  I  grate- 
fully acknowledge. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  I 

Development  of  Operatic  Features 

II 

Early  Beginnings  of  Opera 

III 

Restoration  Opera 

IV 

Beginnings  of  Italian  Opera  in  England 

V 

Foreign  Influence 

VI 

Resume 

Appendix 

Bibliography 

.1  J  J  J  J     > 


CHAPTER  I 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  OPERATIC  FEATURES 

This  study  deals  chiefly  with  the  early  opera  in  its  con- 
nection with  English  letters.  Music  has  been  considered 
only  as  it  serves  to  give  a  more  distinct  and  comprehensive 
view  of  the  principal  theme.  This  limitation  is  necessary 
because  with  a  few  exceptions  the  scores  of  operas  com- 
posed before  the  time  of  Handel  have  been  lost.  The  nature 
of  the  music  therefore  can  only  be  surmised  from  incidental 
references  to  it,  scattered  throughout  diaries,  letters  and 
other  contemporary  records. 

The  seventeenth  century  idea  of  opera  differed  materially 
from  our  own.  The  essentials  of  opera  in  Italy  and  France 
varied  in  important  details  from  those  of  English  opera  so 
that  a  definition  must  be  formulated  covering  the  English 
conditions.  An  opera,  it  Vv^ould  seem,  Vv^as  a  drama,  either 
tragic  or  comic,  which  called  to  its  aid  in  its  presentation 
the  sister  art  of  music  in  the  form  of  set  songs,  choruses 
and  recitatives.  Its  subject  was  commonly  romantic,  and 
it  employed  like  other  romantic  drama,  the  effectiveness  of 
elaborate  scenery,  stage  effects  and  costuming,  setting  more 
store  on  these  accessories  than  did  other  plays.  It  differed 
from  the  masque  in  the  subsidiary  place  which  it  gave  to 
dancing  and  in  the  greater  coherence  of  its  plot.  Though 
it  suffered  in  its  history  certain  changes  in  detail,  its  essen- 
tial features  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  was  a  musical  drama. 

Davenant  was  the  first  writer  of  English  opera.  But  to 
him  an  opera  was  any  dramatic  performance  with  song, 
recitative,  instrumental  music  and  scenic  accompaniment. 
Joseph  Knight  accounts  thus  for  Davenant's  usage  of  the 
term :  "His  reason  for  using  the  word  seems  to  have  been 
almost  entirely  commercial,  without  much  consideration  for 
fitness.  It  was  necessary  to  hoodwink  the  Puritan  police 
authorities  in  order  to  give  the  production.    'Long  after  he 


,j5  ;  :/;'  •'.:;''.'!:' iOfERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

had  dismissed  the  music  and  produced  regular  tragedies, 
he  adhered  to  the  v^^ord  opera,  the  use  of  which  had  enabled 
him  to  steer  his  bark  in  "ticklish"  times.'  "  Knight  seems 
a  trifle  too  general  in  his  assertions,  for  there  were  certain- 
ly operatic  elements  in  the  Siege  of  Rhodes,  in  Sir  Francis 
Drake  and  in  The  Spaniards  in  Feru.  Time  and  again  more- 
over Davenant  is  referred  to  by  Dryden,  Langbaine,  Dennis 
and  others  as  the  one  who  first  introduced  opera.  As  to  his 
"adherence  to  the  word  long  after  he  had  dismissed  the 
music,"  there  is  no  record  that  a  new  English  opera  was 
played  during  Davenant's  lifetime,  after  the  earliest  years 
of  the  Restoration  period.  His  own  operatic  version  of 
Macbeth  was  not  presented  until  1672,  several  years  after 
his  death.  There  would  seem  then  to  be  no  reason  for 
his  continuance  of  the  use  of  the  word.  Instead  of  dis- 
missing musical  accompaniments,  it  is  far  more  probable 
in  conformity  to  the  trend  of  the  Restoration  stage,  that  he 
favored  the  introduction  of  music  into  his  dramas  in  increas- 
ing proportion.  Even  conceding  that  Davenant's  purpose 
in  his  earlier  performances  was  largely  mercenary,  his  re- 
m_odelled  Siege  of  Rhodes  may  be  held  to  have  been  in- 
fluenced also  by  other  considerations.  It  has  evidences  of 
a  conscious  striving  for  artistic  expression  and  complexity 
of  plot,  and  it  certainly  set  an  example  for  later  operas. 

Dryden,  the  author  of  several  of  the  best  English  operas, 
has  left  his  conception  of  the  opera  in  the  preface  to  Albion 
and  AJbanius:  "An  opera  is  a  poetical  tale  of  fiction  repre- 
sented by  vocal  and  instrumental  music  adorned  with  scenes, 
machines  and  dancing.  The  supposed  persons  of  this  mus- 
ical drama  are  generally  supernatural,  as  gods  and  god- 
desses, and  heroes,  which  at  least  are  descended  from  them 
and  are  in  due  time  to  be  adopted  into  their  number."  Dry- 
den omitted  to  mention  dialogue  because  that  is  common  to 
other  forms  of  drama  and  therefore  not  distinctive  of  opera. 

Still  another  definition  is  that  of  Henry  Purcell,  the 
greatest  musician  of  his  age,  and  the  collaborator  with 
Dryden  in  King  Arthur.  In  the  preface  of  his  Dioclesian 
he  speaks  of  an  opera  as  a  "play  of  which  music  forms  a 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEiL 


frequent,  necessary  and  integral  part,  but  of  which  the 
dialogue  is  spoken."  He  further  explains  music  as  sym- 
phonies, songs  and  recitatives.  Purcell  contended,  so  it 
seems,  that  the  dramatic  dialogue  should  be  declaimed  and 
that  only  certain  distinctively  operatic  accompaniments 
should  be  sung.  This  attitude  was  directly  at  variance  with 
Italian  practice  and  with  Dryden's  theory,  but  it  dominated 
operatic  technique  until  the  advent  of  Italian  opera  under 
Handel.     From  that  time  English  opera  has  been  deeply 


indebted  to  Italian  sources.  f 

Davenant  was  also  the  first  to  make  over  Elizabethan 
plays  for  operatic  presentation.  In  refitting  the  older 
dramas  important  changes  were  made,  am.ong  which  were 
the  introduction  into  the  text  of  bright,  clever  songs  with 
melodious  accompaniments,  the  elimination  as  far  as  pos- 
sible of  complexity  of  plot,  the  reduction  of  the  actual  num- 
ber of  lines  of  the  text,  and  finally  the  introduction  of 
supernatural  characters.  To  accomplish  this  often  char- 
acters or  entire  scenes  were  omitted.  Supernatural  beings, 
gods,  fairies,  witches  offered  serious  hindrance  in  their  in- 
troduction, to  obviate  which  short  masques,  or  masque-like 
scenes,  were  inserted  between  the  acts.  Songs  and  instru- 
mental music  were  used  as  ''entre-acts."  Recitative  was 
employed,  but  to  what  extent  cannot  with  certainty  be  de- 
termined. Unquestionably  some  of  these  operas  were  re- 
cited to  music,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  any  part  of  the  original 
drama  was  so  delivered.  The  literary  purveyors  showed 
excellent  taste  in  the  selection  of  the  Elizabethan  plays  to 
be  adapted  to  operatic  purposes,  e.  g..  The  Tempest,  Mac- 
beth, A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  The  Island  Princess, 
and  the  Prophetess.  Fletcher  has  suffered  less  at  their 
hands  than  has  Shakspere,  due  doubtless  to  the  fact  that 
Shakspere's  redactors  were  men  of  great  boldness. 

It  has  usually  been  considered  that  the  heroic  drama  and 
the  opera  made  their  appearance  in  English  literature  simul- 
taneously in  The  Siege  of  Rhodes.  No  literary  species, 
however,  springs  into  existence  full  grown  as  did  Pallas 
from  the  head  of  Jove.    It  is  now  generally  conceded  that 


.'fo'  ■'•':'•':*.*  "LiQP^RATrc  performances  in 

the  germ  of  the  heroic  play  is  found  in  Fletcher,  that  it  was 
fostered  by  Carlell  and  Killigrew  before  Davenant  and  Dry- 
den  took  it  under  their  protecting  care.  In  Davenant  the 
Fletcherian  element  is  still  visible,  but  in  Dryden  and  his 
successors  it  has  been  so  modified  and  distorted  as  to  require 
careful  and  painstaking  research  in  order  to  discover  its 
existence.  The  opera  on  the  other  hand  grew  slowly,  so 
much  so  that  its  growth  may  even  be  said  to  have  been 
stunted.  Elaborate  and  varied  scenery  was  not  required 
for  the  heroic  play  as  it  was  for  the  opera,  making  it  easier 
and  less  expensive  to  stage  a  heroic  play.  The  price  of  ad- 
mission was  less.  Opera  furnished  variety  and  served  to 
attract  because  of  its  novelty. 

The  interest  in  the  heroic  play  was  due  in  part,  doubt- 
less, to  the  popularity  of  the  French  romances  of  Scuderi 
and  Calprenede  with  which  the  king  and  the  court  idled 
away  their  time.  Thus  at  the  playhouse  they  found  a 
counterpart  to  their  interests  at  home.  Unnatural  and  ex- 
travagant, absurd  and  conventional  as  were  both  plays  and 
romances,  they  appealed  to  the  whim  of  the  age.  But  their 
artificiality  made  their  popularity  of  necessity  short-lived. 
After  1680  interest  in  the  heroic  drama  waned  rapidly  while 
that  in  the  opera  increased  until  the  end  of  the  century. 

Opera  and  the  contemporary  drama  managed  plots,  char- 
acters and  themes  in  much  the  same  way,  the  difference 
being  one  of  naturalness  and  intensity  in  elaboration.  The 
plots  of  the  various  serious  operas  are  as  a  rule  borrowed 
from  other  literature  and  are  reworked  to  suit  the  purpose 
in  hand.  Such  were  Circe,  State  of  Innocence,  King  Arthur 
and  Rinaldo  and  Armida.  In  other  instances  the  plots  seem 
to  be  original,  taken  from  historical  sources ;  such  were  all 
of  Davenant's  operas,  Albion  and  Albaniiis  and  others.  The 
plots  of  the  comic  operas  are  foolish  and  far-fetched,  and 
have  been  responsible  to  a  great  degree  for  the  opprobrium 
which  has  been  indiscriminately  heaped  upon  the  opera. 
The  serious  operas  are  as  well  worthy  of  study  as  the 
dramas  of  the  period. 

The  characters  of  the  opera  do  not  differ  greatly  from. 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  ii 

those  of  the  drama  in  general.  Perchance,  as  in  the  case 
of  King  Arthur,  they  are  caught  in  the  meshes  of  a  fairly 
complicated  situation,  and  instead  of  facing  the  inevitable, 
they  escape  by  magic.  In  general,  however,  they  are  quite 
as  natural  as  those  of  the  contemporary  heroic  drama.  They 
took  their  growth  from  characters  such  as  those  of  the  ro- 
mantic drama  of  Philaster  and  developed  along  kindred 
lines.  The  supernatural  dramatis  personae  are  as  a  rule 
the  stock  characters  of  the  masque.  This  is  to  be  expected, 
as  in  many  operas  masques  have  been  inserted,  but  in  opera 
these  characters  have  an  individuality  which  makes  them 
more  realistic  than  they  are  in  the  masque.  The  "common 
people"  seldom  find  place  in  the  opera.  When  they  are  ad- 
mitted, they  are  usually  in  the  Arcadian  guise  of  shepherds. 

The  principal  themes  of  the  heroic  drama  of  Dryden  and 
his  followers  are  love,  honor,  ambition,  and  war.  In  the 
serious  opera  these  themes,  though  present,  are  treated  in 
the  romantic  spirit  of  the  earliest  heroic  play.  The  French 
romance,  on  the  contrary,  dictates  the  policy  of  the  late 
heroic  drama.  Ranting  in  Siege  of  Rhodes  or  Philaster  is 
mild  compared  with  that  of  the  Siege  of  Granada,  or  Tyran- 
nic Love,  Circe,  the  second  extant  original  English  opera, 
acted  after  the  Restoration,  has  the  heroic  elements  but  not 
in  an  intrusive  manner. 

In  Dryden,  Orrery  and  others,  war  is  the  controlling  ele- 
ment and  love  is  almost  without  exception  heroic  love.  In 
Circe,  on  the  contrary,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  opera  in 
general,  war  plays  a  minor  part.  The  real  interest  lies 
elsewhere.  Orestes,  the  hero,  willingly  renounces  his  war- 
like ambitions  in  order  to  gratify  his  love  for  Circe.  Circe 
and  Orestes  love  and  both  yield  and  with  them  Platonic  love 
of  the  heroic  type  finds  no  place.  What  could  be  more 
natural  than  the  result?  It  is  the  old  story  which  has  ever 
played  its  part  in  the  drama  of  life  and  of  fiction. 

Dryden's  King  Arthur  affords  another  example.  It  has  a 
refinement  of  characterization  and  naturalness  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  plot  different  from  the  heroic  plays  of  the 
same  author.    Arthur's  tenderness  for  Emmeline  strikes  a 


12  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 


sympathetic  chord  that  vibrates  in  undertones  of  love  and 
admiration.  Even  the  supernatural  element  in  this  play 
possesses  an  air  of  possibility  and  maintains  the  interest 
throughout.  War  serves  only  as  a  frame  to  encase  an 
exquisite  picture  of  almost  Arcadian  simplicity  and  beauty. 

Political  and  historical  themes,  while  proper  subjects  for 
drama,  require  subtlety  in  their  argumentative  style  which 
should  exclude  them  from  opera.  Dryden,  however,  among: 
his  operas  has  furnished  in  Albion  and  Alhayihts  a  political 
satire,  which  he  strove  to  conceal  in  allegory. 

The  themes  of  the  comic  operas  are  as  various  as  they  are 
idle.  Wild,  weird,  extravagant  situations  and  subjects  af- 
fording occasions  for  the  use  of  strange  and  new  machines 
characterize  these  worthless  things.  The  imaginative  ele- 
ment in  the  opera  is  seen  in  the  mechanical  inventions.  It 
was  in  them  that  the  appeal  to  the  public  lay.  The  fact  that 
such  extravagance  was  resorted  to,  shows  that  the  public 
was  pleased  with  it  and  paid  for  it.  Such  elements  cannot 
be  considered  a  laudable  advance  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  imagination.  In  the  theatre-goers,  they  marked  degen- 
eration from  the  Elizabethan  times ;  in  the  playwright,  they 
showed  that  inventiveness  had  been  transferred  from  intel- 
lectual to  mechanical  processes.  Light  airy  nothings  and 
strange,  fantastical  machines  resulted  from  their  labor.  On 
the  mechanician  alone,  a  demand  was  made  for  the  best  skill 
of  his  art,  but  a  mechanician  is  hardly  a  literary  artist. 

The  music  of  the  opera  consisted  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
parts.  In  some  instances  all  of  the  music  was  the  work  of 
one  composer,  whereas  the  libretto  frequently  showed  com- 
posite authorship.  Singing  of  songs  used  by  Davenant  in 
his  opera  became  also  a  feature  in  the  heroic  plays  of  Dry- 
den and  other  writers  of  the  period.  Later,  songs  without 
any  connection  with  the  plays  were  rendered  during  the  in- 
termissions. Many  of  these  songs  were  in  foreign  lan- 
guages, among  which  the  Italian  was  especially  noticeable. 
In  an  advertisement  of  the  Recruiting  Officer  it  is  peti- 
tioned to  have  Mrs.  Tofts  sing  in  Italian.  Vocal  and  instru- 
mental music  was  used  in  such  profusion  in  Dryden's  Indian 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  13 

Queen,  Lee's  Theodosiiis  and  Stapleton's  Stepmother,  that 
they  have  at  times  been  spoken  of  as  operas. 

The  music  of  Davenant's  opera  seems  to  have  been  well- 
sung  and  well-received.  No  scores  exist,  but  from  the  fact 
that  the  score  for  the  Siege  of  Rhodes  was  written  by  the 
most  excellent  musicians  of  the  day,  it  is  reasonable  to  con- 
jecture that  the  music  was  in  keeping  with  the  reputation  of 
the  composers.  The  authors  of  the  other  pre-Restoration 
operatic  scores  are  unknown.  Lock  is  alleged  to  have  pre- 
pared the  score  for  Macbeth.  He  also  furnished  music  for 
The  Tempest  and  Psyche.  For  the  latter,  Draghi  wrote  the 
overture  and  act-tunes.  John  Banister  composed  the  orig- 
inal music  for  Circe,  but  this  was  replaced  with  a  score  by 
Purcell.  For  Alb  ion  and  Albaniiis,  Grabu  wrote  the  music, 
while  for  the  remaining  operas  until  1695  with  an  occasional 
exception,  the  scores  came  from  the  master  hand  of  Purcell. 
From  his  death  until  1705  the  composers  were  Englishmen, 
often  of  little  talent,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Daniel 
Purcell,  Jeremy  Clark,  John  Eccles  and  G.  Finger.  After 
1705  the  scores  of  great  Italian  masters  were  adapted  to 
English  needs  and  these  sometimes  have  original  music 
of  such  excellence  interspersed  that  it  is  at  times  almost  im- 
possible to  distinguish  the  original  from  the  borrowed 
music. 

No  scores  of  the  foreign  operas  of  Cambert  and  Draghi 
are  extant.  Of  the  former  it  was  said  that  his  operas  were 
not  to  the  taste  of  the  people,  while  of  the  latter  we  have 
the  opinion  of  the  gossipy  Pepys.  One  of  the  annoyances 
with  which  the  librettists  had  to  contend  was  alterations 
m.ade  in  their  work  by  the  musicians.  Dryden  speaks  very 
feelingly  in  the  preface  to  Albion  and  Albaniiis,  complain- 
ing that  so  much  has  been  changed  as  to  almost  ruin  his 
lines.  Shadwell  is  outspoken  in  his  denunciation  of  the  way 
in  which  Psyche  has  been  marred.  On  the  contrary,  in  the 
preface  to  King  Arthur,  Dryden,  in  spite  of  some  reserva- 
tions, makes  handsome  acknowledgment  of  Purcell's  sym- 
pathetic collaboration. 

Both  in  opera  and  in  drama  considerable  applause  was 


14  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

won  by  the  singers  and  many  references  remain  showing  the 
pleasure  which  these  singers  furnished  Charles  II.  and  the 
questionable  nature  of  his  reward.  It  is  safe  to  surmise  that 
the  singers  were  likewise  remarkable  for  cleverness  in  their 
acting  and  for  the  attractiveness  of  their  personality.  Their 
vocal  powers  were  those  of  untrained  voices,  in  all  proba- 
bility naturally  sweet.  A  few  sentences  from  Hawkins 
throw  light  upon  the  conditions  of  the  vocal  music:  "As 
Purcell  is  chiefly  celebrated  for  his  vocal  compositions,  it 
may  perhaps  be  conceived  that  in  the  original  performances 
of  them  they  derive  considerable  advantages  and  that  the 
singers,  like  the  actors  of  that  day,  had  abilities  far  superior 
to  those  of  the  present;  but  this,  as  far  as  inquiry  has 
traced,  is  not  true.  Before  the  introduction  of  Italian  opera 
into  England,  the  use  of  the  vocal  organs  was  but  little 
understood,  and  as  to  what  is  called  a  fine  manner  the  best 
singers  were  strangers  to  it  and  to  those  numberless  graces 
and  elegances  in  singing  now  so  familiar  to  us;  for  which 
reason  it  is  we  see  in  many  of  Purcell's  songs  the  graces 
written  at  length  and  made  a  part  of  the  composition." 
Such  was  the  condition  in  general  prior  to  1700,  after  which 
time  opera  singers  were  well  trained.  It  is  significant  that 
of  all  those  who  appeared  before  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  scarcely  one  is  considered  of  sufficient  importance 
to  merit  a  place  in  dictionaries  or  enclyclopedias  of  mu- 
sicians. Gibber  gives  additional  light  on  the  position  of 
singers  in  the  penultimate  decade  of  the  century  when  he 
states :  'Tlays  were  neglected,  actors  were  held  cheap  and 
slightly  dressed,  while  singers  and  dancers  were  better  paid 
and  embroidered.  These  measures,  of  course,  created  mur- 
muring on  one  side  and  contempt  on  the  other." 

Henry  Purcell,  England's  greatest  musical  genius  (ac- 
cording to  the  Oxford  Dictionary  of  Music),  deserves  more 
than  a  passing  notice.  He  received  his  first  inspiration  aa 
a  choir  boy  under  Dr.  Cook,  one  of  the  composers  of  The 
Siege  of  Rhodes.  Later  he  became  a  pupil  successively  of 
Humfrey  and  Blow.  And  before  his  eighteenth  year  he 
had  written  incidental  music  for  plays  among  which  were 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  15 


Epsom  Wells,  Arung  Zebe  and  The  Libertine.  The  next 
four  years  he  wrote  the  music  for  Abdelazor,  Timon  of 
Athens,  The  Virtuous  Wife,  Theodosius,  and  later  for  Dido 
and  Aeneas,  his  first  complete  opera.  From  1686  to  1695 
Purcell  was  prolific  in  his  writing  and  doing  some  of  his 
most  important  work  in  the  songs  of  Amphytryon,  Massacre 
of  Paris  and  Indian  Queen.  He  is  also  found  in  collabora- 
tion with  Dryden,  Betterton,  Durfey  and  other  adapters  of 
opera.  In  1690  he  furnished  the  music  for  Dioclesian  and 
in  1691  for  King  Arthur.  A  paragraph  from  the  Oxford 
History  of  Music  summarizes  concisely  PurcelFs  accomplish- 
ments :  'Turcell's  work  covers  more  than  that  of  any  other 
composer  of  the  century.  He  attempted  every  branch  of 
art  then  known  and  even  developed  some  which  cannot  be 
said  to  have  been  known  until  he  mastered  them ;  and  there 
was  no  department  in  which  he  did  not  excel.  He  easily 
learned  the  secrets  of  his  predecessors  and  profited  from 
them.  Though  in  some  respects  he  seems  to  have  more 
natural  kinship  with  Monteverde  than  with  any  other  com- 
poser, he  was  equally  master  of  instrumental  style  of  the 
French  opera,  the  style  of  the  Italian  sonata  writer  and 
the  methods  of  dealing  with  the  chorus  which  had  been 
Carissimi's  peculiar  glory.  Perhaps  no  composer  except 
Schubert  has  ever  had  a  readier  fund  of  melody;  and  it 
always  rings  true  and  characteristic  of  the  country  to  which 
he  belongs." 

Our  treatment  of  the  opera  has  thus  far  omitted  any 
reference  to  its  constituent  elements  in  their  derivation 
from  the  past.  The  sources  of  Davenant's  earlier  produc- 
tions have  been  variously  ascribed  and  we  may  feel  sure 
they  were  as  diversified  and  unselected  as  a  purpose  almost 
wholly  commercial  could  make  them.  It  is  obvious  that  a 
inaii  iiKe  Davenant  would  not  scruple  to  approprictt*=  >.nat 
ever  material,  foreign  or  domestic,  answered  his  purpose. 
He  was,  of  course,  familiar  with  the  dramatic  technique 
of  English  plays  and  with  the  demands  of  contemporary 
stagecraft.  In  his  early  manhood  he  had  written  plays  and 
during  the  reign  of  the  first  Charles  his  masques  had  been 


i6  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

presented  at  court,  some  of  them  having  been  staged  by 
Inigo  Jones,  that  master  of  stagecraft.  Davenant's  Temple 
of  Love,  given  at  Whitehall,  was  one  of  the  most  elaborate 
masques  for  invention  and  variety  of  scene  ever  given  in 
England.  His  intimate  association  with  the  theatres  before 
the  Commonwealth  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  coached 
Betterton  and  others  in  roles  as  he  had  seen  them  played 
by  earlier  actors. 

Davenant's  English  sources  for  opera  were  two,  the 
masque  and  the  romantic  drama.  From  the  first  he  derived 
the  sumptuous  use  of  scenery,  the  introduction  of  women 
on  the  stage,  the  musical  element,  the  employment  of  the 
supernatural,  and  the  use  of  dancers.  The  romantic  drama 
furnished  the  model  for  plot,  character  and  diction.  Daven- 
ant  took  what  he  needed  from  the  masque  and  drama,  and 
mixing  it  with  his  own  invention  derived  a  new  species  of 
drama  more  nearly  suited  to  the  spirit  of  the  time.  Un- 
pretentiousness  of  display  in  these  productions,  however, 
was  necessary  to  avoid  offending  the  authorities.  The  trap- 
pings and  decorations  must  have  been  inexpensive  compared 
with  the  almost  fabulous  cost  of  the  masque  given  under 
the  earlier  Stuarts. 

It  has  been  frequently  maintained  that  Davenant  was  in- 
fluenced by  what  he  saw  in  France  in  his  introduction  of 
stage  scenery,  but  this  statement  is  hardly  borne  out  by 
facts.  Let  us  take  a  brief  survey  of  the  opera  in  France. 
Cardinal  Mazarin  fostered  court  theatricals  for  the  grati- 
fication of  Anne  of  Austria.  For  this  purpose  he  employed 
some  Italian  performers  to  give,  partly  in  declamation  and 
partly  in  song.  La  Fesla  teatrale  della  finta  Pazza,  the 
libretto  of  which  was  written  by  Jacques  Torelli,  a  Venetian 
architect  with  literary  and  theatrical  aspirations.  The 
score  was  by  Giulio  Strozzi.  It  was  presented  at  the  Petit 
Luxembourg,  December  14,  1645.  The  performance  was  a 
success  because  of  its  scenic  effectiveness  and  the  beautiful 
singing  of  Margareta  Bertalozzi,  but  the  innovation  of  Ital- 
ian recitative  does  not  appear  to  have  created  an  equally 
favorable  impression.     Mad.  de  Motteville  speaks  thus  of 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  17 

these  Italian  operas:  "Those  who  are  judges  think  very 
highly  of  the  Italians.  For  my  part,  I  find  the  length  of  the 
performance  takes  largely  away  from  the  pleasure,  and  that 
verses  repeated  in  a  simple  manner  represent  conversation 
more  naturally  and  touch  the  heart  more  deeply  than  the 
singing  pleases  the  ears."  Again:  "On  Shrove  Tuesday 
(1646)  the  queen  had  a  performance  of  one  of  her  musical 
comedies  in  the  small  hall  of  the  Palais  Royal.  We  were  only 
twenty  or  thirty  persons  in  the  place  and  we  thought  we 
should  die  of  cold  and  ennui."  A  few  years  later,  at  Maza- 
rin's  request,  Corneille  wrote  Ayidromede  to  utilize  the 
scenes  prepared  for  tht  Italian  productions.  Dibdin  says  01 
this:  "It  would  be  pitiful  and  unworthy  to  describe  the 
particulars  of  that  puppet  show  through  which  the  public 
were  now  to  admire  the  brilliant  talents  of  the  great  Cor- 
neille. One  principal  object  of  admiration  was  a  living 
pegasus  flying  in  a  way  so  peculiar  that  he  sprung  into  the 
air  and  seemed  lost  in  the  clouds.  The  poor  horse  it  seemed 
was  kept  without  food  until  he  was  almost  starved,  and  in 
that  condition  fastened  in  the  flies  to  a  cord  with  pullies  so 
constructed  that  by  a  counterpoise,  his  own  weight  could 
carry  him^  to  the  other  side  of  the  stage.  When  it  was  proper 
time  for  this  pegasus  to  exhibit,  a  man  on  the  other  side, 
so  concealed  as  not  to  be  seen  by  his  audience,  held  in  sight 
of  the  famished  animal  a  sieve  of  oats.  The  animal  instant- 
ly began  neighing  and  pawing;  and  when  he  had  been  suf- 
ficiently irritated,  the  rope  that  had  restrained  him  was 
loosened  and  the  effort  threw  him  into  the  air  until  he  ar- 
rived at  his  stable  in  the  clouds  v/here  he  v/as  recompensed 
by  a  good  supper  for  his  dexterity."  Davenant,  however, 
had  left  France  before  the  performance  of  this  production. 
As  early  as  1647,  the  Abbe  Perrin  (described  as  a 
"hanger-on  of  Gaston  d'Orleans")  recognized  the  possibili- 
ties of  Italian  opera  for  the  French,  but  he  saw  also  the 
necessity  of  adapting  it  in  certain  particulars  to  the  French 
taste.  The  result  of  his  study  is  seen  in  the  earliest  French 
opera  Vv^hich  included  a  much  greater  variety  of  sources  of 
entertainment  while   opportunities   for  mere   vocalization 


i8  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

were  not  unduly  prominent.  Thus,  from  its  incipiency, 
French  opera  shows  the  grafting  of  a  peculiarly  native 
growth  upon  an  Italian  stock.  With  the  assistance  of  Cam- 
bert,  Perrin  worked  out  an  operatic  production  called  La 
Pastorale  premiere  comedie  francaise  en  musiqiie.  It  was 
given  without  scenic  advantages  with  extraordinary  ap- 
plause at  the  Chateau  d'Issy.  So  great  was  the  interest 
aroused  that  Louis  XIV  commanded  its  presentation  at 
Chateau  de  Vincennes.  This  is  usually  considered  the  first 
French  opera  and  was  given  privately  three  years  after  the 
lirst  public  performance  of  The  Siege  of  Rhodes.  As  in  the 
case  of  this  last  named  work,  the  libretto  exists  but  the 
score  has  been  lost.  It  seems  remarkable  that  these  suc- 
cesses should  have  been  unfollowed.  To  be  sure,  Ariane, 
on  he  marriage  de  Bacchus,  by  the  same  authors,  was  in  re- 
hearsal at  Issy  when  Mazarin  died  (1661),  but  it  was  not 
publicly  acted  until  1669.  It  is  thus  the  first  French  opera 
publicly  presented  on  the  French  stage  and  it  was  given 
thirteen  years  after  the  first  performance  of  The  Siege  of 
Rhodes.  It  is  also  highly  significant  that  w^hen  in  1669  Cam- 
bert  and  Perrin  petitioned  Louis  XIV  for  the  privilege  of 
establishing  opera  in  France,  they  requested  to  be  allowed 
to  give  it  as  it  was  written  in  Italy,  Germany  and  England. 

Recitative  was  another  feature  of  Davenant's  operas,  al- 
though it  had  been  used  before  as  its  mention  (in  1617) 
in  Johnson's  masques,  Lord  Hay's  Entertainment  for  Baron 
de  Tour,  and  Vision  of  Delight,  goes  to  prove.  Nor  is  it 
certain  that  this  musical  recitation  of  words  may  not  have 
been  quite  common  to  the  Jacobean  masque.  Recitative  was, 
however,  likewise  a  feature  both  of  French  and  Italian 
opera  and  while  it  does  not  seem  necessary  to  refer  its 
derivation  in  Davenant's  case  to  these  foreign  influences, 
they  may  have  had  their  effect  either  directly  or  through 
masques  such  as  those  mentioned  above. 

The  introduction  into  opera  of  instrumental  music  be- 
tween the  acts  and  the  intermixture  of  the  more  serious 
parts  with  songs  and  lighter  lyrics  had  an  English  founda- 
tion, dating  from  the  beginning  of  the  drama  in  England. 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  19 

Lyrics  were  popularly  used  in  the  earliest  Elizabethan  plays. 
In  the  masque,  the  use  of  the  music  was  more  or  less 
organic  and  elaborate;  in  the  plays,  it  was  brief  and  in- 
cidental; in  the  opera  it  was  theoretically  an  integral  part 
of  the  organism.  But  for  most  operas  composed  before  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  musical  parts  of 
one  opera  might  readily  have  been  inserted  in  any  other 
opera,  so  slight  was  the  relation  between  the  dramatic  and 
operatic  parts.  In  the  masque  there  was  choral  singing 
which  in  later  operas  became  an  important  element,  often 
being  planned  with  considerable  skill.  In  this  respect,  these 
later  operas  showed  more  closely  their  indebtedness  to  the 
masque. 

The  assignment  of  female  parts  to  women  was  a  signifi- 
cant element  in  the  opera.  Prior  to  1656,  English  women 
had  rarely  (if  ever)  appeared  on  the  public  stage.  They 
had  taken  important  parts  in  the  masque,  although  never 
a  speaking  part.  There  had  been  instances  when  the  queen 
and  the  princesses  of  the  blood  royal  had  participated  in 
these  entertainments.  It  required  but  a  suggestion  to  per- 
ceive that  if  the  nobility  enjoyed  the  dancing  and  posing  of 
ladies  in  the  masque,  a  similar  exhibition  in  public  per- 
formances would  become  generally  popular.  One  wonders 
that  the  incongruity  of  allowing  men  to  impersonate  women 
on  the  stage  had  not  long  before  appealed  to  the  English 
sense  of  humor.  Women  appeared  on  the  stage  in  other 
countries,  which  fact  may  have  suggested  to  Davenant  the 
idea  of  ascertaining  the  English  attitude  toward  this  by  in- 
troducing Mrs.  Coleman  in  the  Siege  of  Rhodes.  It  is  gen- 
erally conceded  (Aubrey  to  the  contrary)  that  The  Siege 
of  Rhodes  in  two  parts,  having  several  female  roles,  was 
not  presented  until  1661.  Soon  after  the  Restoration,  how- 
ever, womxcn  appeared  frequently  in  the  legitimate  drama 
until  by  degrees  their  parts  were  no  longer  acted  by  men. 

The  dances  which  became  popular  with  the  opera  of  the 
Restoration  period  may  owe  somewhat  to  the  French  taste 
of  the  Stuart  monarch,  for  at  the  time  of  his  residence  at 
the  French  court  the  ballet  was  a  favorite  amusement.    But 


20  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

the  bias  of  the  king  could  not  have  influenced  the  produc- 
tions of  the  politic  Davenant  during  the  Commonwealth. 
Dancing  was  the  soul  of  the  masque,  just  as  the  masque  in 
its  properly  confmed  usage  was  the  frame  of  a  dance  or  ball. 
Inasmuch  as  in  Davenant's  opera,  dancing  must  have  been 
after  an  approved  English  fashion,  it  must  of  necessity  have 
been  suggested  by  the  masque.  The  comic  antimasque  also 
served  to  establish  the  connection  between  the  dancing  in 
the  opera  and  thcit  in  the  masque.  The  dancers  in  these 
antimasques  were  invariably  actors  from  the  theatres.  It 
seems  very  reasonable  that  these  people  who  could  interest 
royalty  and  nobility  with  their  dancing,  would  also  make 
it  a  part  of  their  stock  in  trade  to  increase  the  patronage 
and  popularity  of  the  playhouse.  In  availing  himself  of 
the  dance  for  his  opera,  Davenant  thus  simply  appropriated 
a  very  familiar  device. 

In  the  earlier  pages  of  this  study  the  discussion  of  plot, 
characters  and  diction  show  that  these  operatic  elements 
were  drawn  from  the  romantic  drama  of  which  Fletcher's 
Philaster  may  be  considered  a  fair  representative.  In  many 
respects  Davenant's  operas  are  little  more  than  the  aver- 
age romantic  drama  of  pre-Restoration  times  with  musical 
accompaniments.  They  are  not  evidences  of  the  decadent 
extremes  of  their  immediate  predecessors  nor  the  wild  ex- 
cesses of  their  successors.  The  realistic  characterization  of 
romantic  drama  is  seen  in  the  serious  opera  before  Arsinoe, 
after  which  there  could  hardly  be  said  to  be  any  characteri- 
zation at  all  in  the  opera.  The  heroic  and  mythological 
characters  are  m.erely  those  of  the  masque  transformed 
under  Fletcherian  influence.  The  metaphorical  and  deli- 
cately extravagant  romantic  language  of  the  Siege  of  Rhodes 
indicates  another  indebtedness  to  Fletcher's  drama.  The 
diction  is  neither  so  rich  nor  so  striking  as  that  of  the 
Elizabethan  but  it  also  lacks  the  stilted,  conventionel  lan- 
guage of  the  later,  heroic  play. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  EARLY  BEGINNINGS  OF  OPERA 

The  political  and  social  disorders  which  disturbed  Eng- 
land during  the  period  of  Puritan  domination  produced  con- 
ditions directly  antagonistic  to  the  production  of  public 
amusements  of  any  form.  Even  before  the  execution  of 
King  Charles  the  theatre  had  been  strenuously  opposed  by 
the  Puritans  and  denounced  as  a  menace  to  morality.  In 
consequence  injunctions  followed,  curtailing  their  privi- 
leges, and  in  1647  an  ordinance  was  passed,  closing  the 
playhouses  and  forbidding  all  kinds  of  theatrical  presenta- 
tions. Such  extreme  measures  begot  reaction.  Clandestine 
performances,  slenderly  patronized,  were  given.  Because 
of  this  ban  upon  harmless  amusem^ents  many  fair-minded 
citizens  were  aroused  against  the  Puritans  and  welcomed 
anything  which  might  react  against  the  existing  conditions. 
With  an  act  on  the  statutes  against  theatres,  actors  and 
spectators,  it  is  manifest  that  there  could  be  no  hope  of 
reviving  the  legitimate  drama,  unless  indeed  the  real  issues 
were  disguised.  Sir  William  Davenant,  a  man  noted  alike 
for  his  shrewdness  and  enterprise,  formerly  prominent  both 
as  a  playwright  and  as  a  theatre  manager,  made  capital  out 
of  the  general  discontent  and  secured  permission  from 
Cromwell  to  present  a  new  kind  of  entertainment  which  he 
styled  opera.  In  giving  his  consent  to  the  performances 
of  Davenant,  Cromv/ell  m.ust  have  realized  that  the  people 
were  chafing  under  the  iron-clad  restraint  of  Puritan  rule, 
and  politician  that  he  was,  he  realized  that  in  yielding  he 
was  also  strengthening  his  power  over  the  people.  What- 
ever his  ulterior  reasons,  he  granted  permission  to  Daven- 
ant to  present  operas,  and  ever  since  opera  has  been  per- 
formed intermittently  in  England,  sometimes  attaining 
great  popularity;  at  other  times  seeming  to  disappear  en- 
tirely. 

Armed  with  the  power  of  the  law,  Davenant  presented 


22  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

in  the  back  part  of  Rutland  House  in  Charterhouse  Yard 
on  May  the  twenty-first,  1656,  his  first  performance.  The 
title  page  of  this  piece  reads  as  follows:  "The  first  day's 
entertainment  at  Rutland  House,  by  declamations  and 
musick,  after  the  manner  of  the  antients.  By  Sir  W.  D., 
London :  Printed  by  J.  M.  for  H.  Herringham,  and  sold  at 
his  shop  at  the  Anchor  in  the  New  Exchange  in  the  Lower 
Walk  1657,  8  vo." 

In  its  prologue  this  piece  is  called  an  opera.  Productions 
like  it  could  never  have  gained  a  lasting  hold  upon  any 
people,  and  especially  upon  a  people  in  whose  minds  lin- 
gered traditions  of  the  great  Elizabethan  drama.  Indeed 
its  long  argumentative  dialogues  could  hardly  have  attract- 
ed even  a  public  weary  of  the  religious  restraints  of  the 
time.  It  is  possible  that  Davenant  considered  he  might  win 
the  confidence  of  the  authorities  by  presenting  something 
of  a  sombre,  harmless  nature  before  he  essayed  an  ambitious 
entertainment.  Whatever  his  reasons,  the  performance  was 
duly  given.  The  interest  of  the  public  was  attested  by  the 
presence  of  an  audience  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  people,  al- 
though provision  had  been  made  for  four  hundred.  As 
there  is  no  record  that  this  piece  was  ever  repeated,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  one  performance  served  Davenant's 
purpose  and  satisfied  the  curiosity  of  the  audience.  The 
only  resemblance  of  the  First  Day's  Entertainment  to  opera 
is  that  it  furnished  a  medium  for  the  presentation  of  a  play 
accompanied  by  music.  The  remarks  in  the  Biographia 
Dramatica  are  interesting:  "This  being  an  introductory 
piece,  it  required  all  the  author's  wit  to  make  it  answer 
different  intentions ;  for  first  it  was  to  be  so  pleasing  as  to 
gain  applause;  and  next  it  was  to  be  so  remote  from  the 
very  appearance  of  a  play  as  not  to  give  any  offence  to  that 
pretended  sanctity  which  was  then  in  fashion.  It  began 
with  music;  then  followed  a  prologue  in  which  the  author 
banters  the  oddity  of  his  own  performance." 

The  Entertainment  is  written  in  prose  with  the  exception 
of  the  prologue,  the  epilogue  and  two  songs ;  the  discussions 
are  long  and  tedious,  but  seem  to  indicate  that  the  author 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  23 

was  already  maturing  his  plans  for  something  more  nearly 
operatic.  After  a  flourish  of  music,  the  curtains  are  drawn 
and  the  prologue  enters.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks,  he 
mentions  several  important  features  of  the  performance 
which  throw  light  on  the  local  condition  under  which  this 
entertainment  was  given.    He  says : 

"But  though  you  cannot  front  our  cupboard  scene. 
Nor  sit  so  eas'ly  as  to  stretch  and  lean, 
Yet  you  are  so  divided  and  so  plac'd 
That  half  are  freely  by  the  other  f ac'd ; 
And  w^e  are  shrewdly  jealous  that  you  come 
Not  merely  to  hear  us,  or  to  see  the  room, 
But  rather  meet  here  to  be  met,  I  mean 
Each  would  see  all,  and  would  of  all  be  seen. 
Which  we  but  guess,  respectfully  to  show 
Your  worthy  selves,  not  we  of  you. 
Think  this  your  passage,  and  the  narrow  way 
To  our  Elysian  fleld  the  opera." 
Then  the  curtains  are  closed.     After  a  ''concert"  of  in- 
strumental music,  adapted  to  the  sullen  disposition  of  Dio- 
genes, the  curtains  are  again  opened  and  seated  on  two 
gilded  ''rostras"  appear  Diogenes  and  Aristotle  in  costumes 
befitting  their  country  and  professions.    A  long  dissertation 
by  the' cynic  against  opera  is  followed  by  a  ''concert  of 
music,  befitting  the  pleasant  disposition  of  Aristophanes," 
who,  of  course,  destroys  the  arguments  advanced  by  Dio- 
genes.   Again  the  company  is)  entertained  by  vocal  and  in- 
strumental music.     This  song  being  ended,  another  "con- 
cert" after  the  French  composition  is  heard.    When  the  cur- 
tains are  again  opened,  there  appear  "in  the  rostras  sitting, 
a  Parisian  and  a  Londoner,  in  the  livery  of  their  respective 
cities,  who  declaim  concerning  the  pre-eminence  of  Paris 
and  London."    After  the  Parisian's  speech  there  follows  a 
"concert  of  music  imitating  the  Waits  of  London."     Then 
the  Londoner  answers,  proving  as  was  eminently  proper 
under  the  circumstances,  the  superiority  of  his  city.    This 
discourse  is  followed  by  more  instrum.ental  music  and  a  song 
proclaiming  London's  superiority  over  Paris.     Then  the 


24  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

speaker  of  the  prologue  appears  and  having  rendered  his 
lines  is  followed  by  a  flourish  of  loud  music.  The  curtain 
is  now  closed  for  the  last  time  and  the  entertainment  is  at 
an  end.  Surely  the  beginnings  of  opera  in  England  were 
insignificant. 

Curiously  enough  Antony  Wood  calls  this  entertainment 
the  first  Italian  opera  performed  in  England.  He  suggests 
the  Protector's  reason  for  allowing  it  in  these  words: 
"Though  Oliver  Cromwell  had  now  prohibited  all  other 
theatrical  representations,  he  allowed  of  this  because,  being 
in  an  unknovv^n  language,  it  could  not  corrupt  the  morals  of 
the  peo])]8."  Concerning  which  E.  Sutherland  Edwards  in 
his  Lyrical  Drama  aptly  remarks  that  Wood  must  have  sup- 
posed Davenant's  performance  to  have  been  in  the  Italian 
tongue,  or  else  must  have  regarded  music  as  an  unknown 
language  and  therefore  unintelligible! 

After  a  few  months  Davenant  sought  the  patronage  of 
the  public  with  an  entertainment  vastly  superior  to  The 
First  Day's  Entertainment  at  Rutland  House.  It  was  an 
opera  called  The  Siege  of  Rhodes,  and  was  given  at  Rutland 
House  in  1656.  It  was  presented  with  shifting  of  scenes. 
The  libretto  was  rendered  in  recitative,  air,  and  by  chorus. 
The  composers  of  the  music  were  Henry  Lawes,  who  later 
composed  the  music  for  Milton's  Comus,  Captain  Henry 
Cook  and  Matthew  Lock.  The  cast  included  Gregory  Thorn- 
dell,  Henry  Cook,  Edward  Coleman  and  wife,  Matthew  Lock, 
John  Harding,  Henry  Purcell,  the  father  of  the  great  mu- 
sician of  the  same  name.  This  Mrs.  Coleman  is  the  first 
English  wom.an  recorded  as  acting  upon  a  public  stage.  She 
played  the  part  of  lanthe.  There  is  no  record  of  the  fre- 
quency with  which  this  entertainment  was  given,  but  the 
general  conditions  and  the  fact  that  it  was  subsequently 
enlarged  justify  the  conclusion  that  it  was  well  received. 
The  first  part  (in  1661  we  have  a  second  part)  had  seven 
characters  in  five  entries.  As  first  presented  it  lacked  the 
important  character  of  Roxolana.  The  story  centers  itself 
about  the  siege  of  Rhodes  and  will  be  told  when  that  Restora- 
tion play  is  treated. 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  25 

Two  years  later  Davenant  brought  out  his  next  operatic 
performance  which  may  be  more  fittingly  styled  an  intro- 
duction to  later  opera.  Its  title  page  reads :  ''The  Cruelty 
of  the  Spaniards  in  Peru.  Exprest  by  instrumentall  and 
vocall  musick,  and  by  the  art  of  perspective  in  scenes.  Rep- 
resented daily  at  the  Cockpit  in  Drury  Lane,  at  three  after- 
noon punctually."  It  was  presented  in  1658  and  printed  the 
same  year.  To  the  end  of  the  first  edition  was  appended  this 
note:  ''Notwithstanding  the  great  expense  necessary  to 
scenes  and  other  ornaments  in  this  entertainment,  there  is 
good  provision  made  for  a  shilling."  Already  the  increased 
expenditure  incurred  in  staging  opera  was  demanding 
serious  consideration  of  the  business  end  of  the  enterprise. 

Throughout  the  piece  a  priest,  acting  as  an  interpreter  of 
the  dumb  shows,  is  the  only  speaker.  Each  speech,  followed 
by  a  song,  ends  in  a  dance,  joyous  or  mournful  as  occasion 
demands.  Nothing  is  said  about  recitative  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  leader  spoke  his  part. 

The  story  tells  of  Spanish  interference  and  cruelty  in 
Peru,  and  closes  with  the  suggestion  that  the  English  will 
come  to  assist  the  down-trodden  natives.  The  play  was 
hardly  fit  for  presentation.  Among  the  stage  directions  is 
one  for  this  gruesome  scene :  'Two  Spaniards  are  discov- 
ered— the  one  turning  a  spit,  whilst  the  other  is  basting  an 
Indian  prince,  which  is  roasted  at  an  artificial  fire." 

Tropical  scenery  used  in  abundance  tended  to  give  the 
opera  the  effect  of  a  gorgeous  spectacular  show.  The  first 
"prospect  is  made  through  a  wood,  differing  from  those  of 
European  climates  by  representing  of  coco-trees,  pines  and 
palmetos ;  and  on  the  boughs  of  other  trees  are  seen  monkies, 
apes  and  parrots ;  and,  at  farther  distance,  vallies  of  sugar- 
canes."     (Stage  Directions) 

The  fact  that  this  opera  was  presented  daily  attests  its 
popularity.  In  December,  1658,  The  Public  Intelligencer 
contained  notice  that  the  court  had  ordered  an  investigation 
of  opera.  Their  report  is  not  known  but  it  may  be  consid- 
ered not  unfavorable  inasmuch  as  Davenant  presented  a 
new  opera  in  the  year  following. 


26  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

The  last  pre-Restoration  opera  of  which  we  have  record 
is  "The  History  of  Sir  Francis  Drake/'  represented  daily 
at  the  Cockpit.  The  decorations  were  elaborate  as  may  be 
seen  in  an  examination  of  the  stage  directions.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  greater  part  of  the  text  was  sung  in  recitative. 
The  date  assigned  is  early  in  1659.  Evelyn  under  May  5, 
1659,  has  the  following  comment:  "I  went  to  visit  my 
brother  in  London  and  next  day  to  see  a  new  opera  after 
ye  Italian  way  in  recitative  music  and  sceanes,  much  in- 
ferior to  ye  Italian  composure  and  magnificence ;  but  it  was 
prodigious  in  a  time  of  such  publig  consternation  such  vanity 
should  be  kept  up  or  permitted."  (Evelyn  felt  that  the 
recent  death  of  Cromwell  should  have  been  more  fittingly 
recognized.) 

The  story  of  this  opera  is  taken  partly  from  incidents  in 
the  travels  of  Drake.  The  action  takes  place  in  Panama,  al- 
though "an  antick  shield"  with  Peru  written  on  it  greets 
the  spectator  at  the  rising  of  the  curtain.  Drake  extends  a 
helping  hand  to  the  Symerrons,  a  Moorish  people  in  bondage 
to  the  Peruvians.  The  most  exciting  scene  shows  a  bride 
bound  to  a  tree.  Her  hair  is  "disheveled"  and  she  is  com- 
plaining loudly.  Drake,  of  course,  rescues  her  and  censures 
severely  the  Symerrons  for  their  lack  of  courtesy  to  a  "lady." 
They  reply  that  they  are  simply  doing  what  the  Spaniards 
had  taught  them,  but  promise  never  to  do  it  again.  This 
opera,  like  The  Criielty  of  the  Spaniards  in  Peru,  was  later 
used  by  Davenant  as  a  part  of  his  medley,  The  Playhouse 
to  Be  Let. 

With  the  Restoration  of  the  Stuarts  the  drama  revived, 
and  with  it  the  opera  took  a  new  lease  of  life.  Charles  II  in 
his  long  exile  had  acquired  French  tastes,  and  these  swayed 
the  English  court.  The  opera,  however,  seems  not  to  have 
been  affected  by  the  change.  Until  1672,  so  far  as  records 
are  preserved,  one  English  opera,  repeatedly  given,  held  the 
stage. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  other  operas,  the  names  of  which 
are  lost,  were  acted.  Under  August  2,  1664,  Pepys  records 
a  conversation  in  which  Killigrew  states  that  he  is  going  to 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  27 

set  up  a  ''Nursery"  where,  among  other  things,  he  is  going 
to  present  four  operas  "in  a  year,  to  act  six  weeks  at  a  time." 
The  best  scenes,  the  best  music  and  ''everything  as  magnifi- 
cent as  is  in  Christendome"  were  to  characterize  these  per- 
formances. For  the  execution  of  these  designs,  Pepys  adds, 
he  "hath  sent  for  voices  and  painters  and  other  persons 
from  Italy." 

The  Siege  of  Rhodes  is  the  first  opera  given  after  the 
Restoration  of  whose  performance  v/e  have  satisfactory  evi- 
dence. This  work,  which  is  in  two  parts,  consists  of  the 
early  opera  of  that  name  greatly  enlarged  and  revised,  and 
a  second  part  which  emploj^s  the  sam.e  characters  with  some 
new  ones  introduced.  It  was  presented  the  latter  part  of 
June,  1661,  with  a  cast  of  rising  celebrities,  among  whom 
were  Betterton,  Harris,  Lilliston,  Blagden,  Mrs.  Davenport 
and  Mrs.  Saunderson.  According  to  Downes  it  was  excel- 
lently performed  for  twelve  days  without  interruption  and 
received  great  applause. 

For  the  next  few  years  this  opera  was  quite  popular  and 
was  frequently  revived.  It  was  printed  in  quarto  in  1663 
and  in  1670,  and  was  included  in  the  folio  edition  of  Daven- 
ant's  Works  in  1672.  Pepys  speaks  often  of  reading  this 
opera  and  on  several  occasions  declares  it  is  the  best  play 
ever  written.  His  opinion  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  index  of 
his  age. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  composers  of  the  music  for  the 
second  part,  but  in  all  likelihood  as  the  same  musicians  who 
set  the  first  part  were  still  living,  it  was  prepared  by  them. 
Pepys,  under  the  date  of  January  22,  1666-1667,  speaks  of 
the  delight  he  has  in  the  prospect  of  securing  the  music  of 
The  Siege  of  Rhodes. 

The  plot  of  this  opera  is  in  brief:  The  Christians  at 
Rhodes  are  besieged  by  the  Mussulmen  under  Solymon  the 
Magnificent.  On  the  island  conditions,  already  serious,  are 
everyday  becoming  more  so.  lanthe,  the  wife  of  Alphonso, 
a  duke  of  great  power  and  renown,  eager  to  help  the  city, 
seeks  Solymon.  The  latter  treats  her  v/ith  marked  courtesy 
and  allows  her  to  return  home.     lanthe  has  won  the  love 


28  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

of  the  people  but  has  aroused  the  jealousy  of  her  husband. 
Alphonso  determines  to  continue  resistance  to  the  sultan. 
Eventually  the  resources  of  Rhodes  fail  and  the  people  cry 
for  lanthe  to  go  again  to  Solymon.  She  goes,  is  well  received 
and  is  sent  to  the  tent  of  Roxolana,  Solymon's  wife.  The 
sultana  becomes  jealous  and  decides  to  kill  lanthe  as  she 
sleeps,  but  changes  her  mind.  When  lanthe  awakes  she 
instantly  wins  Roxolana's  favor.  Meanwhile,  as  lanthe  does 
not  return,  Alphonso's  jealous  fear  incites  him  to  an  un- 
successful attack  upon  the  sultan's  quarters,  during  which 
he  is  captured.  Solymon  gives  him  to  Roxolana,  who  unites 
him  to  lanthe.  Then  Solymon  promises  lanthe  her  request 
for  Rhodes  and  so  everything  ends  happily. 


CHAPTER  III 

RESTORATION  OPERA 

Colley  Gibber  says  that  the  only  two  theatrical  companies 
of  the  time  were  prosperous  for  some  years,  till  their 
variety  of  plays  began  to  be  exhausted  when,  of  course,  the 
better  actors,  who  seem  to  have  been  in  the  Kings'  company, 
could  not  fail  to  draw  the  greater  audiences.  And  he  adds 
that  the  Duke's,  i.  e.,  Davenant's  company,  introduced  a 
new  species  of  plays  called  operas  in  order  to  make  head 
against  their  rivals.  So  we  find  at  the  Duke's  Theatre  in 
1672  was  given  Shakspere's  Macbeth,  altered  by  Davenant, 
**being  drest  in  all  it's  finery  as  new  cloath's,  new  scenes, 
machines,  as  flying  for  the  witches;  with  all  the  singing 
and  dancing  in  it ;  the  first  compos'd  by  Mr.  Lock,  the  other 
by  Mr.  Channell  and  Mr.  Joseph  Priest;  it  being  all  excel- 
lently perform'd,  being  in  the  nature  of  an  opera,  it  recora- 
penc'd  double  the  expence;  it  proves  still  a  lasting  play." 
Its  popularity  is  manifest  by  the  fact  that  it  was  printed  in 
quarto  in  1674,  1687,  1695  and  1710.  The  cast  included 
Betterton,  Harris,  Smith,  Lee,  Mrs.  Betterton  and  Mrs. 
Long,  all  well-known  actors  at  the  time.  On  December  27, 
1707,  at  the  Haymarket,  the  opera  was  revived  with  Bet- 
terton, Wilkes,  Mills,  Keen,  Mrs.  Barry  and  Mrs.  Rogers 
in  the  leading  roles,  and  still  other  revivals  are  recorded 
for  1711,  1717,  1723  and  1738. 

In  preparing  the  play  for  operatic  production,  Davenant 
made  some  bold  changes.  Stevens  goes  so  far  as  to  say 
"almost  every  original  beauty  is  either  awkwardly  disguised 
or  arbitrarily  omitted."  Genest  complains  of  the  omission 
of  some  fine  speeches  and  the  introduction  of  a  considerable 
quantity  of  "insipid  stuff."  Added  to  this  there  are  hardly 
six  lines  together  in  which  some  "useless  and  wanton 
change"  has  not  been  made. 

Davenant  is  indebted  to  Middleton's   Witches  for  the 


30  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

names  of  his  witches  and  for  "a,  considerable  part  of  the 
chorusses."  He  supposes  that  Macbeth  communicated  to  his 
lady  the  prophecy  of  the  witches  in  two  separate  letters, 
and  in  this  way  he  introduces  a  new  scene  between  Lady 
Macbeth  and  her  guest.  Another  important  variation  con- 
sists in  lengthening  the  roles  of  Macduff  and  his  wife. 
Lady  Macbeth  complains  that  the  ghost  of  Duncan  haunts 
her  continually.  She  tries  to  prevail  upon  her  husband  to 
relinquish  the  crown,  and  in  the  fifth  act  her  last  two 
speeches  are  ''most  injudiciously  omitted,"  while  what 
passes  between  Macbeth  and  the  doctor  is  ''shamefully  mu- 
tilated." 

The  musical  pieces  of  Macbeth  have  maintained  their 
popularity  longer  than  those  of  any  other  dramatic  com- 
position. For  rude  and  wild  excellence,  according  to  Bur- 
ney,  they  cannot  be  surpassed.  Their  authorship  is  still 
undiscovered.  It  has  been  claimed  for  Locke,  Purcell  and 
Richard  Leveridge. 

So  successful  was  this  adaptation  of  Macbeth  that  in  the 
following  year  (1673)  there  appeared  The  Tempest,  or  the 
Inchanted  Island,  "made  into  an  opera  by  Mr.  Shadwell, 
having  all  new  in  it;  as  scenes,  machines;  particularly  one 
scene  painted  with  myriads  of  'Ariel'  spirits;  and  another 
flying  away,  with  a  table,  furnisht  out  with  fruits,  sweet 
meats  and  all  sorts  of  viands;  just  when  the  Duke  Trinculo 
and  his  companions  were  going  to  dinner ;  all  was  perf  orm'd 
in  it  so  admirably  well,  that  not  any  succeeding  opera  got 
more  money."  This  was  the  Dryden-Davenant  Tempest 
played  in  1667,  adapted  to  operatic  presentation.  The  music 
was  the  work  of  Humphrey,  Lock  and  Banister. 

Many  changes  were  made.  Not  content  with  Caliban  and 
Miranda,  Sycorax,  a  sister  monster,  and  Dorinda,  a  second 
daughter  to  Prospero,  have  been  introduced.  Trinculo  is 
turned  into  a  boatswain,  and  speaks  a  good  deal  of  what  be- 
longs to  Stephano.  Two  sailors  are  added.  Hippolito's 
cure  is  effected  by  anointing  Ferdinand's  sword  with  weap- 
on salve. 

Dr.  Furness  in  his  Variorum  Tempest  says :    "As  a  com- 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  31 

prehensive  commentary  thereon,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
the  additions  to  the  original,  on  which  Davenant  and  Dryden 
plumed  themselves  are  wholesale  plagiarisms  from  Calder- 
on's  play,  written  twenty  years  earlier,  so  says  Herman 
Grimm  (Fiinfzehn  Essays  1875,  p.  206),  who  also  says, 
with  humor,  that  such  is  the  quality  of  these  additions  that 
the  two  poets  laureate  might  well  have  contended  for  the 
honour  of  having  contributed  the  smaller  share." 

The  managers  of  the  rival  theatre,  incited  by  jealousy  at 
the  successes  of  these  operatic  performances,  brought  out 
shortly  after  the  appearance  of  The  Tempest  a  burlesque 
upon  it  written  by  Duffet  and  called  The  Mock  Tempest, 
or  The  Enchanted  Castle.  The  characters  are  parodies  on 
those  of  the  operatic  Tempest  and  are  vulgar  and  forbidding 
as  is  also  the  language.  Miranda  and  Dorinda  are  little 
better  than  wantons  and  their  chatter  is  uninteresting  and 
coarse.  Foul  insinuations  are  made  against  the  Quakers, 
by  one  Quakero,  which  is  only  another  of  the  many  disgust- 
ing features.  It  is  impossible  to  outline  the  story  inasmuch 
as  it  would  require  th©  introduction  of  scenes  thoroughly 
repulsive.  The  popularity  of  these  presentations,  however, 
was  much  too  great  to  be  killed  by  burlesques,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1673-1674  the  long  expected  opera  Psyche  "came 
forth  in  all  her  ornaments ;  new  scenes,  new  machines,  new 
cloaths,  new  French  dances.  This  opera  was  splendidly  set 
out,  especially  in  scenes;  the  charge  of  which  amounted  to 
above  800  pounds.  It  had  a  continuance  of  performance 
about  8  days  together ;  it  proved  very  beneficial  to  the  com- 
pany; yet  The  Tempest  got  them  more  money."  (Downes) 
Langbaine  also  bears  testimony  to  its  reception:  "How 
much  this  opera  takes,  everybody  that  is  acquainted  with 
the  theatre  knows ;  and  with  reason,  since  the  greatest  mas- 
ters in  vocal  musick,  dancing,  and  painting,  were  concerned 
in  it."  The  only  record  of  its  renewal  is  for  Mills'  benefit 
at  Dorset  Garden  on  June  10,  1704.  Then  the  bills  say  "not 
acted  for  6  years."  It  is  probable  therefore  that  it  was 
given  at  other  times  for  which  we  have  not  dates. 

Psyche  closely  follows  Moliere's  play  of  the  same  title 


32  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

which  had  been  given  operatic  settings  in  France  by  Quin- 
ault  and  Lulli,  and  had  been  presented  in  1672  in  Paris. 
This  is  the  only  English  opera  that  shows  direct  indebted- 
ness to  the  French  so  that  the  discussion  of  French  influence 
on  English  opera  may  be  practically  ignored. 

The  score  of  Psyche  was  composed  by  Lock  and  was  pub- 
lished with  the  libretto  in  1675,  being  probably  the  first 
English  opera  whose  score  and  libretto  were  published  to- 
gether. The  act  tunes  and  entries  written  by  Draghi,  the 
great  Italian  master  of  music,  however,  were  not  included. 
The  story  of  Psyche  is  founded  on  the  well-known  tale  of 
The  Golden  Ass  by  Apuleius  and  in  brief  is  as  follows: 
Psyche,  the  attractive  daughter  of  Theander,  is  envied  by 
her  sisters,  Aglaura  and  Cydippe,  who  resent  her  popular- 
ity among  the  eligible  princes.  Psyche,  however,  does  not 
care  for  her  suitors  and  only  consents  to  marriage  at  the 
command  of  the  oracle  of  Apollo,  which  assigns  her  to  an 
awful  fate.  She  is  to  be  cast  on  the  desert  rock,  there  to 
be  wedded  to  the  poisonous  serpent  which  lives  there.  The 
envious  sisters  are  delighted  and  Psyche  is  resigned.  She 
is  cast  upon  the  island  and  after  a  short  interval  she  is 
embraced  not  by  a  serpent  but  by  a  god  whose  identity  is 
concealed  from  her.  All  her  environment  is  glorious.  With 
a  touch  of  human  frailty  she  asks  that  her  sisters  be  allowed 
to  visit  her,  and  they  are  transported  to  the  place  by  magic. 
With  augmented  envy,  they  try  to  destroy  her.  They  arouse 
in  her  a  curiosity  to  learn  the  name  of  her  god-lover.  When 
Cupid,  for  he  was  the  lover,  next  joins  her.  Psyche  begs 
him  to  tell  her  his  name.  All  efforts  to  dissuade  her  prove 
futile.  When  she  is  told  all  her  happiness  vanishes  and 
she  is  again  cast  on  a  desert  island,  her  sisters  rejoicing 
in  her  downfall.  In  despair  Psyche  tries  ineffectually  to 
drown  herself.  Eventually  all  turns  out  happily  and  she  is 
reunited  to  Cupid.  The  sisters  are  sent  to  punishment  while 
Polynices  and  Nicanor,  two  suitors,  kill  themselves  for  love 
of  Psyche. 

With  regard  to  the  play  Genest  says :  "Moliere's  Psyche 
is  pleasing,  Shadwell's  is  dull — Heywood's  play  is  by  far 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  33 

the  best  of  the  three,  as  he  has  made  some  happy  additions 
to  the  story." 

Again  the  popularity  of  an  opera  called  for  a  burlesque 
from  the  rival  players,  and  Psyche  Debauched  was  written 
purposely  to  secure  for  the  Theatre  Royal  the  audience 
that  the  Duke's  house  had  temporarily  gained.  Psyche 
Debauched  has  been  aptly  described  by  the  writer  in  Bio- 
graphia  Dramatica  as  **a  mass  of  low  scurrility  and  abuse, 
without  either  wit  or  humor,"  and  soon  m.et  with  the  con- 
tempt it  deserved.  The  play  called  for  a  large  cast,  which 
included  several  well-known  actors.  There  was  evidently 
a  goodly  number  of  local  hits  which  probably  afforded  much 
enjoyment  to  the  audience.  An  infusion  of  dialect,  far- 
fetched operatic  devices,  a  dance  of  bears,  among  which 
was  the  White  Bear  of  Norwich,  who  in  the  end  discarding 
his  shape  appeared  as  Cupid,  were  other  noticeable  features 
of  this  burlesque. 

Dryden's  first  opera.  The  State  of  Innocence  and  Fall  of 
Man  v/as  printed  in  folio  1674  and  in  quarto  1676,  1677  and 
1692.  It  must  have  been  composed  without  any  intention  of 
presentation  since  it  contains  a  plot,  which  in  its  very  nature 
could  not  have  been  adapted  for  a  public  theatre.  It  is  an 
operatic  version  of  Milton's  Paradise  Lost. 

The  overture  calls  for  a  ''symphony"  of  warlike  music, 
after  which  the  heavens  being  opened,  rebellious  angels 
whirl  through  the  air  and  out  of  sight.  Then  appear  other 
angels,  brandishing  swords  and  singing  praise  to  the  Al- 
mighty Ruler  of  Heaven.  The  scene  shifts  to  Hell,  where 
lamentation  is  heard.  The  first  act  is  concerned  with  the 
devils  mentioned  in  the  early  part  of  Milton's  poem.  In 
the  second  act  we  are  given  a  glimpse  of  an  artificial  Eden 
and  of  an  equally  artificial  Eve.  She  makes  her  appearance 
in  a  most  self-conscious  manner,  is  delighted  as  she  views 
her  reflection  in  the  fountain.  Her  behavior  towards  Adam 
is  characterized  by  an  almost  humorous  coquetry.  At  times 
one  wonders  if  the  opera  is  not  intended  as  a  burlesque  on 
Paradise  Lost.  Yet  with  all  these  absurdities,  Dryden 
often  displays  fine  poetical  gifts.    His  opera,  in  reality  a 


34  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

dramatic  poem,  shows  the  degraded  taste  of  the  age,  pre- 
ferriRg  what  is  ingenious  and  polished  to  the  simplicity  and 
sublimxity  of  Milton. 

Evidently  several  years  passed  before  the  appearance 
of  the  next  opera.  When  it  came,  it  was  the  work  of  a  youth 
Ol  eighteen,  who  is  also  said  to  have  performed  a  part  in  it. 
His  name,  however,  does  not  appear  in  the  cast  as  given  by 
Downss. 

Circe,  by  Dr.  Charles  Davenant,  the  son  of  Sir  William 
Davenant,  was  licensed  June  19,  1677,  by  Roger  L'Estrange 
and  was  presented  in  the  same  year  at  the  Duke  of  York's 
Theatre,  although  the  Prologue  suggests  that  it  was  given 
privately  for  its  first  performance.  The  score,  originally 
by  John  Banister,  wtcS  replaced  later  with  music  by  Purcell. 
The  opera  was  published  in  quarto  1677,  and  again  in  1685 
and  1703.  Downes  records  a  splendid  cast  for  the  first  per- 
formance, including  Betterton  (Orestes),  Mrs.  Lee,  who 
later  became  Lady  Slingsby  (Circe)  ;  Williams  (Pylades), 
Harris  (Thoas),  Mrs.  Betterton  (Iphigenia),  and  Mrs.  Twi- 
ford  (Osmida).  To  the  list  of  dramatis  personae,  there 
must  be  added  Pluto,  the  Ghost  of  Clytemnestra,  and  four 
nymphs  used  by  Circe  in  her  incantations.  The  opera  was 
well  performed  and  "answered  the  expectations  of  the  com- 
pany." 

Two  revivals  of  this  opera  are  recorded ;  on  July  14,  1704, 
at  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  Theatre,  for  the  benefit  of  J.  Smith, 
at  which  time  it  does  not  seem  to  have  attracted  any  special 
attention;  and  April  11,  1719,  at  the  same  playhouse  for 
the  benefit  of  Mrs.  Bullock. 

The  original  prologue,  although  written  by  Dryden,  was 
trite,  and  he  later  rewrote  it;  the  epilogue  was  from  the 
pen  of  John  Wilmot,  Earl  of  Rochester,  the  well-known  lit- 
erary rake.  Th^  plot  of  the  opera  is  drawn  from  the  Greek 
tragedy,  I'phigcnia  in  Taurus.  Davenant's  alterations  are 
many  and  bold,  the  most  prominent  of  which  is  making 
Circe  the  wife  of  Thoas,  the  Scythian  king.  There  is  a 
curious  confusion  of  heathen  mythology  and  Christian  the- 
ology, while  other  anachronisms  are  frequent.    This  plot  is 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  35 


more  intricate  than  those  of  the  opera  in  general.  Iphigenia, 
the  priestess  of  Diana,  is  beloved  by  Ithacus,  the  son  of 
Circe.  Although  friendly  to  him,  she  does  not  reciprocate 
his  affection.  Thoas,  Circe's  husband,  has  turned  on  Iphi- 
genia his  lustful  eye,  and  in  consequence  of  this  she  has 
incurred  the  hatred  and  jealousy  of  the  queen.  Through  the 
power  of  her  magic,  Circe  speaks  with  Pluto,  and  from  him 
she  learns  that  it  is  written  in  the  ''book  of  fate"  that  her 
husband  and  her  son  shall  that  day  meet  a  cruel  death.  This 
destiny  may  be  averted  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  stranger  who 
shall  be  seen  on  the  island  the  same  morning,  and  whom  the 
priestess  shall  select  for  an  offering. 

Pylades  and  Orestes  meanwhile  land  at  the  port  and  soon 
find  that  they  are  among  hostile  people.  Weary  and  anxious, 
they  lie  down,  and  soothed  by  the  music  of  unseen  voices, 
fall  asleep.  Their  rest  is  disturbed  by  the  arrival  of  the 
queen  and  her  attendants.  The  queen  immediately  falls  in 
love  with  Orestes  and  her  attentions  quickly  become  so 
marked  as  to  arouse  the  king's  anger.  Meanwhile  Orestes 
has  been  selected  by  the  priestess  as  the  sacrifice  to  Diana. 
Thoas  determines  to  show  no  clemency.  But  Circe,  having 
learned  that  Orestes  is  Iphigenia's  brother,  informs  her  of 
that  fact,  and  Iphigenia,  with  all  the  agony  of  despair,  pleads 
with  the  king  for  Orestes'  life,  but  Thoas  remains  inexor- 
able. Circe  determines  to  interfere.  Magician  that  she  is, 
she  causes  Orestes  to  be  taken  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  dragons 
to  her  'Inchanted  Palace,"  where  she  joins  him.  Before 
long  they  are  interrupted  by  Thoas,  who  finally  obtains  the 
queen's  consent  to  the  arrest  of  Orestes.  At  this  critical 
moment  word  is  brought  that  the  comrades  of  Orestes  have 
attacked  the  island  and  are  doing  great  damage.  Orestes 
is  rescued  and  leaves  Circe.  The  Greeks,  Iphigenia  with 
them,  start  homeward,  only  to  be  driven  back  by  a  storm. 
Orestes,  suddenly  demented,  meets  Thoas,  and  in  a  fight 
kills  him.  Then  he  and  Circe  have  a  lover's  quarrel  during 
which  he  stabs  her  and  kills  himself.  The  tragedy  closes 
as  the  queen  expires. 

Here  it  may  be  seen  what  an  important  part  machines  and 


36  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

scenery  could  play  in  an  opera,  for  Langbaine  observes  that 
"the  scenes  and  machines  may  give  it  a  title  to  that  species 
of  drammatick  poetry  called  an  opera."  It  is  also  interest- 
ing to  note  the  frequency  of  the  use  of  magic,  the  familiar 
:ind  repeated  appearances  of  supernatural  beings,  all  of 
which  were  essential,  organic  parts  of  the  plot.  There  are 
many  scenes  which  later  became  favorite  operatic  conven- 
tions. Such  are  the  cave  scenes.  Iris  on  the  rainbow,  sleep 
of  the  hero  in  a  bower  surrounded  by  maidens,  chariots 
springing  from  the  ground  and  possibly  others.  Nymphs, 
Iris,  Cupid,  Morpheus  are  the  supernatural  personages  in- 
troduced. 

Dr.  Davenant  has  managed  all  his  accessories  in  an  effec- 
tive way.  Lightning,  storm,  thunder,  dance  of  the  winds, 
song  of  the  bacchanals,  song  of  the  sirens,  symphonies,  rum- 
blings in  the  earth,  as  occasion  requires,  are  used  to  create 
a  setting  harmonious  with  the  action  of  the  plot. 

This  opera  is  especially  plentiful  in  dances.  It  has  dances 
of  magicians,  of  combatants,  of  bacchanals,  of  'Thansy,"  of 
pleasant  dreams,  of  spirits  and  of  others.  The  chorus  is 
composed  of  priests. 

Under  1680,  we  find  mention  of  an  opera  called  Alexis's 
Paradise,  but  beyond  this  nothing  is  known.  In  1722  was 
published  a  piece  with  the  title,  Alexis'  Paradise  or  A  Trip 
to  the  Garden  of  Love  at  Vauxhall,  by  James  Newton,  which 
may  be  a  revival  or  alteration  of  the  opera. 

The  Loves  of  Dido  and  Aeneas,  in  three  short  acts,  by 
Nahum  Tate  with  score  by  Purcell,  is  the  first  opera  in 
English  of  which  we  have  positive  proof  that  the  entire 
libretto  Vv'as  set  to  music.  It  was  written  at  the  request  of 
Mr.  Josias  Priest,  the  students  of  whose  boarding-school 
presented  it.  The  date  of  the  composition  has  been  much 
discussed  and  as  yet  no  satisfactory  conclusions  have  been, 
reached.  The  Oxford  History  of  Music  gives  the  date  1680, 
although  other  authorities  place  it  later.  In  this  operatic 
production  Purcell's  share  was  marked  'Vith  a  liveliness  of 
fancy  and  maturity  of  judgment  that  astonished  his  au- 
dience and  would  have  reflected  honor  on  any  musician  then 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  zi 

in  England."  (Busby)  Of  this  opera  an  excellent  critic 
says:  "The  point  that  is  most  conspicuous  in  Bido  and 
Aeneas  is  its  simple  sincerity.  The  composer  forsaking  the 
artificialities  which  had  latterly  possessed  that  stage  when 
music  was  employed,  endeavors  to  treat  his  characters  as 
human  beings  and  to  make  them  express  genuine  feeling." 
(Oxford  History  of  Music  III  297)  Davey  has  called  atten- 
tion to  its  technical  achievements  as  follows:  'The  music 
is  always  admirable,  as  dramatically  expressive  as  that  of 
Lanier,  Lawes  or  Humfrey  combined  with  constructive 
power  and  contrapuntal  mastery  such  as  they  never  at- 
tempted. In  particular,  the  combination  of  pathetic  declam- 
ation with  a  ground  bass  was  a  triumph  of  novelty  and 
invention.  These  exactly  opposite  resources  were  fused  into 
a  death  song  of  surpassing  beauty.  A  most  spirited  chorus 
To  the  hills  and  the  vales  and  a  trio  Fear  no  danger  to  ensue 
are  other  strong  points  of  this  opera." 

The  story  is  the  familiar  Virgilian  tale  with  slight  varia- 
tions. Anna  is  represented  as  a  woman  of  insight  and  feel- 
ing. She  advises  Dido  to  return  the  love  of  Aeneas,  and 
when  Dido  continues  to  manifest  indifference  Anna  tells 
Aeneas  to  note  that  the  eyes  of  Dido  contradict  her  lips. 
When  Aeneas  is  warned  by  a  spirit  that  he  must  leave  the 
queen,  he  seeks  her  for  a  farewell  meeting.  She  rebukes 
him  for  his  infidelity.  In  consequence  he  offers  to  disregard 
the  commands  of  the  gods  but  Dido's  obstinacy  drives  him 
away.  The  tragedy  closes  as  she  stabs  herself  on  her 
funeral  pyre. 

Witches  and  sorceresses  are  introduced  effectively  in  sev- 
eral scenes.  The  diction  of  the  opera  is  not  of  a  high  order, 
although  it  is  superior  to  that  of  the  later  Italian-English 
operas  of  the  first  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  if  we 
except  the  operatic  works  of  Congreve  and  Addison. 

Next  we  come  to  Noah's  Flood,  or  The  Destruction  of  the 
World,  attributed  to  Edward  Ecclestone,  an  opera  "never 
acted,"  and  from  the  various  advertisements  inserted  to 
attract  purchasers,  it  seems  to  have  been  "never  sold."  It 
is  a  sequel  to  Dryden's  Stat'e  of  Innocence;  and  while  it  has 


38  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

some  degree  of  merit,  it  is  greatly  inferior  to  Dryden's 
poem. 

Noah's  Flood  was  printed  in  quarto  in  1679  and  was  ded- 
icated to  her  Grace  the  Duchess  of  Monmouth.  In  1685, 
new  cuts  were  prepared  for  it  and  its  title  was  changed  to 
The  Cataclism  or  General  Deluge  of  the  World.  In  1691  its 
title  was  again  changed,  this  time  to  The  Deluge  or  The 
Destruction  of  the  World.  Another  edition  in  12  mo.  came 
out  in  1714  with  the  title  Noah's  Flood;  or  The  History  of 
the  General  Deluge.  The  preface  of  this  edition  tries  to 
pass  it  off  as  a  new  piece  of  unknown  authorship. 

The  dramatis  personae  include  Noah,  his  family.  Sin, 
Death,  angels  good  and  bad.  The  stage  directions  call  for 
Noah's  Ark,  for  the  land  to  be  covered  with  water  except  one 
mountain  peak,  and  introduces  all  the  horrors  of  the  flood. 
The  time  element  and  the  Biblical  narrative  are  both  treat- 
ed very  freely.  The  play  comes  to  a  conclusion  with  the 
destruction  of  Babel. 

On  June  3,  1685,  there  was  presented  at  the  Queen's 
Theatre  in  Dorset  Garden  Dryden's  opera,  Albion  and  Al- 
haniiis,  an  allegorical  satire  on  the.  Whigs,  intended  to  ex- 
pose the  fanciful  doctrines  of  the  Lord  Shaftesbury  and  his 
adherents.  It  was  also  intended  as  a  panegyric  on  Charles 
II.  and  his  brother,  James  II.,  who  were  represented  in 
the  characters  of  Albion  and  Albanius.  Its  first  perform- 
ance was  given  on  the  day  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  landed 
in  the  west.  ''The  nation  being  in  great  consternation,  it 
was  perform'd  but  six  times  which  not  answering  half  the 
charge  involved  the  company  very  much  in  debt."  (Downes) 
The  music,  which  was  very  inferior,  was  written  by  Grabu, 
who  published  it  in  1687  with  a  dedication  to  James  II. 
The  libretto  was  printed  in  folio  in  1685,  and  in  quarto  in 
1691. 

The  plot  runs  in  brief  as  follows :  At  the  restoration  of 
Albion  (Charles  II.),  Augusta  (London)  repents  of  her  dis- 
loyalty. Archon  (General  Monck)  tells  Augusta  he  has 
come  from  the  Caledonian  shore  to  save  her  and  to  restore 
Albion,  whose  reign  quickly  closes  when  Albanius  (James 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  39 

II.)   assumes  the  government  and  Albion  is  apotheosized. 

Before  Dryden  had  presented  his  opera  publicly,  Charles 
died  and  it  became  necessary  for  Dryden  to  modify  his  orig- 
inal plan  so  that  instead  of  glorifying  Charles  alone,  he 
made  Charles  and  James  co-partners  in  glory. 

The  plot  contains  nothing  ingenious;  the  deities  intro- 
duced are  those  of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  diction,  how- 
ever, is  both  lyrical  and  beautiful.  Elaborate  scenery  was 
used.  At  the  opening  the  scene  is  a  ''street  of  palaces."  In 
the  foreground  are  equestrian  statues  of  gold  mounted  on 
pedestals  of  marble,  bearing  the  imperial  arms  of  England. 
Mercury  descends  in  a  ''chariot  drawn  by  ravens."  Later 
the  clouds  divide  and  Juno  appears  in  a  "machine  drawn 
by  peacocks ;  v/hile  a  symphony  is  playing"  it  moves  gently 
forward,  and  as  it  descends  it  opens,  discovering  the  tail  of 
the  peacock  so  large  as  to  almost  screen  the  entire  stage. 

The  second  act  opens  v/ith  decorations  equally  lavish. 
The  scene  is  a  "poetical  Hell."  "There  is  a  figure  of  Prome- 
theus, chained  to  a  rock,  the  vulture  knawing  his  liver; 
Sisyphus  rolling  the  stone ;  the  Belides  and  others.  Beyond, 
abundance  of  figures  in  various  tormients.  Then  a  great 
arch  of  fire.  Behind  this,  three  pyramids  of  flames  in  per- 
petual agitation.  Beyond  this,  glowing  fire,  which  termin- 
ates the  prospect."    (Stage  Directions) 

Other  interesting  scenes  are  Neptune  rising  out  of  the 
water  with  a  train  of  rivers,  tritons  and  sea-nymphs ;  view 
of  Dover  Cliffs  with  the  castle  on  top;  cave  of  Proteus, 
consisting  of  several  arches  of  rock-work  adorned  with 
mother-of-pearl,  coral  and  an  abundance  of  shells  rising 
from  the  sea.  Albion  seizes  Proteus,  who  changes  into  a 
lion,  a  crocodile,  a  dragon  and  finally  resumes  his  own 
shape  again. 

After  Albion  and  Albanius  no  new  opera  was  recorded 
until  1690,  when  The  Prophetess,  or  The  History  of  Diocle- 
sian,  founded  on  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  Prophetess  "with 
alterations  after  the  manner  of  an  opera"  was  presented 
at  the  Queen's  Theatre.  In  the  quarto  published  the  same 
year  these  alterations  are  ascribed  to  Betterton.    The  pro- 


40    OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

logue,  written  by  Dryden,  was  suppressed  for  political  rea- 
sons. The  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  composed  by  Pur- 
cell,  is  elaborate  and  of  remarkable  beauty  and  variety. 

According  to  Downes,  this  great  opera  gratified  the  ex- 
pectations of  court  and  city  and  got  the  author  great  reputa- 
tion. The  scenes,  machines  and  "cloaths"  were  costly. 
Gibber  complains  that  while  this  opera  was  in  appearance 
very  successful,  its  receipts  did  not  balance  the  expenditure. 
In  addition  every  branch  of  theatrical  business  had  been 
sacrificed  to  the  ''getting  up"  of  The  Prophetess  and  King 
Arthur  so  that  general  discontent  followed.  This  opera 
was  frequently  revived,  part  of  it  being  given  in  1784  with 
a  Jubilee  in  commemoration  of  Handel  and  Shakspere.  The 
cast  on  this  occasion  included  Lewis,  Whitfield,  Hill,  Clarke, 
Davies,  Quick,  Mrs.  Bates,  Mrs.  S.  Kemble,  Mrs.  Inchbald. 

The  opera  has  practically  the  same  plot  as  the  play, 
though  somewhat  abridged.  In  Act  III  some  figures  come 
out  of  the  hangings  and  dance.  Then  they  attempt  to  sit 
on  some  chairs  which  slip  from  under  them  and  join  in  the 
dance.  The  story  comes  from  Roman  tradition.  Delphia  the 
prophetess  has  foretold  to  Dioclesian  that  he  shall  become 
emperor  when  he  shall  have  killed  the  ''wild  boar."  In  order 
to  hasten  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy,  Dioclesian  spends 
his  time  killing  wild  boars.  But  the  empire  does  not  come. 
One  day  he  hears  Charinus,  the  emperor,  promise  half  of 
the  empire  and  the  hand  of  his  sister  Aurelia  in  marriage  to 
the  one  who  shall  kill  Aper.  Charinus  suspects  Aper  of 
having  killed  Numerian,  the  other  emperor.  Aper  carries 
around  in  a  closed  carriage  the  decaying  body  of  Numerian, 
whom  he  has  killed.  On  the  pretense  that  the  emperor  is  too 
ill  to  consider  business,  he  refuses  all  access  to  him.  Dio- 
clesian kills  Aper  but  gives  Aurelia  to  Maximian,  his  com- 
panion, and  also  turns  over  to  him  the  empire.  Then  Dio- 
clesian, with  his  long-beloved  Drusilla,  the  niece  of  the 
Prophetess,  retires  to  a  simple  life.  Maximian,  fearful  lest 
Dioclesian  shall  repent  of  his  generosity,  seeks  to  kill  him 
but  is  foiled  by  the  Prophetess. 

As  a  play,  the  probable  work  of  Fletcher  and  Massinger, 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  41 

it  is  finely  written  and  has  suffered  less  in  being  turned 
into  an  opera  than  any  other  Elizabethan  play. 

For  the  next  few  years  operas  came  frequently.  Some  of 
them  were  old  plays ;  some  were  original  and  artistic ;  while 
yet  again  some  were  original  in  the  direction  of  the  comic, 
but  otherwise  show  little  art  or  power  of  any  kind. 

King  Arthur,  or  the  British  Worthy,  a  dramatic  opera 
by  John  Dryden,  was  acted  in  1691  at  the  Queen's  Theatre 
and  was  printed  in  quarto  the  same  year.  In  his  dedication 
to  the  Marquis  of  Halifax,  Dryden  says:  'This  poem  was 
the  last  piece  of  service  which  I  had  the  honour  to  do  for 
my  gracious  master  King  Charles  II;  and  though  he  lived 
not  to  see  the  performance  of  it  on  the  stage,  yet  the  pro- 
logue to  it,  which  was  the  opera  Albion  and  Albaniits,  was 
often  practiced  before  him  at  Whitehall,  and  encouraged 
by  his  royal  approbation." 

In  this  production  early  English  opera  reached  its  high- 
est development.  The  music,  composed  by  Purcell,  is  "orig- 
inal, vigorous,  various  and  beautiful,"  and  several  numbers 
such  as  Come  If  You  Dare,  The  Frost  Spirits  Chorus  and 
Fairest  Isle  All  Isles  Excelling  merit  especial  praise.  The 
music  of  King  Arthur  was  more  popular  than  the  music  of 
any  English  opera  which  appeared  prior  to  the  Beggar's 
Opera  in  1728.  The  dances  were  arranged  by  Mr.  Jo.  Priest. 
All  told,  the  opera  pleased  both  Court  and  City,  and  was  a 
financial  success  as  well.  The  cast  for  the  first  performance 
was  exceptionally  strong,  including  Betterton,  Williams, 
Kynaston,  Sanford,  Hodgson,  Mrs.  Bowman,  Mrs.  Butler 
and  Mrs.  Bracegirdle. 

In  1705,  for  Newman's  benefit,  the  Frost  Scene,  one  of  the 
finest  parts  of  King  Arthur,  was  presented  in  connection 
with  the  drama,  the  Royal  Merchant.  King  Arthur  was 
revived  for  Cibber's  benefit  in  1706  and  for  general  pre- 
sentation in  1735,  when  it  was  given  thirty-six  times.  In 
1770  it  was  altered  by  David  Garrick  and  presented  twenty- 
one  times.  As  Arthur  and  Emmeline  it  was  acted  ten  times 
in  1781. 

The  principal  incident  of  the  play  is  copied  in  almost 


42  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

every  circumstance  from  the  adventures  in  the  haunted 
grove  on  Olivet  in  Tasso's  Gerusalemma  Liberata.  The  story 
is  in  brief:  King  Arthur,  King  of  Britain,  and  Oswald, 
King  of  Kent,  are  in  love  with  Emmeline,  the  blind  daugh- 
ter of  Conon,  the  Duke  of  Cornwall.  She  loves  Arthur, 
but  this  fact  has  not  discouraged  Oswald.  In  a  war  between 
the  two  kings,  Arthur  is  victorious,  but  very  generously 
grants  Oswald  his  freedom.  The  latter  shows  his  ingrati- 
tude by  taking  the  first  favorable  opportunity  to  seize 
Emmeline  and  carry  her  away  to  his  castle,  whence  she 
is  rescued  by  supernatural  power,  has  her  sight  restored  by 
Merlin  and  marries  Arthur. 

The  plot,  evidently  constructed  with  a  view  to  the  musi- 
cian's requirements,  supplies  that  variety  in  scenes  which 
is  essential  to  musical  effect.  The  machinery  is  simple 
and  well-managed.  "The  language  and  ministry  of  Grim- 
bald,  the  fierce  earthly  daemon,  are  painted  with  some 
touches  which  rise  even  to  sublimity.  The  conception  of 
Philidel,  a  fallen  angel,  retaining  some  of  the  hue  of 
heaven,  who  is  touched  with  repentance,  and  not  without 
hope  of  being  finally  received,  is  an  idea  *  *  *  alto- 
gether original."    (Dryden  vii-127) 

Genest  remarks  that  the  opera  pleases  both  in  perusal 
and  in  presentation,  and  finds  the  chief  merit  in  the  char- 
acters of  Grimbald  and  Philidel. 

The  writer  in  the  Biographia  Dramatica,  while  disap- 
proving the  extravagance  of  many  of  the  incidents,  con- 
cludes with  a  warm  appreciation  of  the  skill  of  Dryden  in 
surmounting  all  the  puerilities  with  which  the  story  of  the 
legendary  prince  is  encumbered.  'The  contrast  of  charac- 
ter between  Philidel,  a  gentle,  aerial  spirit,  friendly  to  the 
Christians,  and  Grimbald,  a  fierce,  earthly,  goblin,  engaged 
on  the  adverse  party  is  not  only  well  designed  but  executed 
with  the  hand  of  a  master." 

In  the  next  year  (1692)  Cassandra,  or  the  Virgin  Proph- 
etess, by  an  anonymous  author,  was  acted  at  the  Theatre 
Royal.  It  was  printed  in  quarto  in  1692  but  no  copy  seems 
to  exist. 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  43 

In  the  same  year  another  of  Shakspere's  dramas  was 
made  into  an  opera.  The  Fairy  Queen,  an  operatic  version 
of  the  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  was  acted  at  the  Queen's 
Theatre  (Dorset  Garden)  where  the  ''Court  and  town  were 
wonderfully  satisfy'd  with  it."  (Downes)  It  was  printed 
in  quarto  in  1692,  anonymously. 

This  opera  was  superior  in  presentation  to  King  Arthur 
and  The  Prophetess,  especially  in  "cloaths,  for  all  the  singers 
and  dancers,  scenes,  machines,  and  decorations,  all  most 
profusely  set  off;  and  excellently  performed,  chiefly  the 
instrumental  and  vocal  part  composed  by  the  said  Mr.  Per- 
cell  and  dances  by  Mr.  Priest."  (Downes) 

It  was  doubtless  revived,  although  we  have  only  one  rec- 
ord of  such  a  revival,  when  a  concert  with  The  Fairy  Queen 
in  one  act  was  given  in  connection  with  the  best  scenes  of 
Marriage  a-la-Mode  in  two  acts. 

On  the  whole  this  play  does  not  differ  materially  from 
the  original;  several  slight  changes  are  made  in  the  dia- 
logue and  the  character  of  Hippolita  is  omitted.  Theseus' 
speech  about  the  ''poet's  eye"  is  sadly  mutilated.  The  "me- 
chanicals' "  performance  of  Pyramus  and  Thishe  is  inserted 
in  the  second  act  and  its  place  in  the  fifth  is  supplied  by  an 
elaborate  masque.  In  the  the  third  act  after  the  scene  be- 
tween Titania  and  Bottom,  a  masque  ensues  and  "the  scene 
changes  to  a  great  wood ;  a  long  row  of  them  on  each  side ; 
a  river  in  the  middle ;  two  rows  of  lesser  trees  of  a  different 
kind  just  on  the  side  of  the  river,  which  meet  in  the  middle 
and  make  so  many  arches ;  two  great  dragons  make  a  bridge 
over  the  river ;  their  bodies  form  two  arches  through  which 
two  swans  are  seen  in  the  river  at  a  distance.  *  *  * 
While  a  symphony  is  playing,  the  two  swans  come  swim- 
ming in  through  the  arches  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  as  if 
they  would  land;  these  turn  themselves  into  fairies  and 
dance ;  at  the  same  time  the  bridge  vanishes,  and  the  trees 
that  are  arched  raise  themselves  upright.  Four  savages 
enter,  fright  the  fairies  and  danse  an  entry."  Then  Juno 
appears  in  a  machine,  her  peacocks  spread  their  tails  and 
fill  the  middle  of  the  stage.  After  which  the  scene  changes 


44  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

to  a  Chinese  garden  in  which  two  Chinese,  a  man  and  a 
woman,  sing.  To  add  to  the  strangeness  and  novelty  of  the 
general  operatic  effect,  six  monkeys  come  from  behind  the 
trees  and  dance. 

The  Loves  of  Mars  and  Venus  by  P.  Motteux  is  recorded 
as  a  play  set  to  music.  It  was  acted  at  Little  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields  in  1696.  It  was  given  as  part  of  Ravencroft's 
Anatomist  with  which  it  was  also  published.  It  bears  a 
resemblance  'to  Shadwell's  Psyche,  and  is  in  reality  la 
masque.  The  music  was  written  by  Mr.  Finger  and  Mr. 
J.  Eccles. 

The  story  is  the  well-known  fable  of  the  guilty  loves  of 
Mars  and  Venus,  and  of  Vulcan's  entrapping  them.  By  so 
doing  he  displays  them  and  himself  to  the  ridicule  of  the 
august  inhabitants  of  Olympus.  Mars  is  well  presented  as 
a  passionate  lover. 

After  the  Fairy  Queen,  the  next  recorded  opera  is  the 
anonymous  Brutus  of  Alba,  or  Augiista's  Triumph.  It  is  in 
the  nature  of  a  sequel  to  Tate's  Brutus  of  Alba,  or  The 
Enchanted  Lovers  and  was  presented  at  Dorset  Garden 
in  1696.  In  the  next  year  it  was  published  in  quarto  by 
George  Powell  and  John  Verbruggen.  The  music  was  com- 
posed by  Daniel  Purcell.  Genest  gives  the  epitome  of  this 
opera  about  as  follows:  Brutus,  absent  in  the  Gallic  war, 
has  left  Arsaracus  guardian  of  his  kingdom  and  of  Amar- 
ante,  who  is  betrothed  to  Brutus'  son,  Locrinus.  Aware 
of  this,  and  regardless  of  it,  Arsaracus  makes  love  to  Amar- 
ante,  but  to  no  purpose.  In  order  to  sooth  his  wounded  pride 
Arsaracus  secures  the  aid  of  Coreb,  an  evil  spirit,  who 
places  a  certain  Sozimon  in  Aramante's  chamber  where 
Locrinus  discovers  him.  To  increase  his  villainy,  Arsaracus 
in  company  with  some  ruffians  attacks  Locrinus.  The  men 
are,  however,  repulsed.  Arsaracus  clears  Amarante's  fame, 
in  consideration  for  which  he  is  given  his  life. 

Genest  adds  that  the  author  of  the  opera  has  borrowed 
the  names  Amarante,  Ragusa,  Arsaracus,  and  Sozimon 
from  Tate,  but  the  characters  are  totally  different.  Other 
characters,  Hercius  and  Spungius  with  the  good  and  bad 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  45 

spirits  are  taken  from  Massinger's  Virgin  Martyr,  as  are 
also  the  best  parts  of  the  dialogue.  Part  of  the  scenery  and 
machines  which  had  been  used  in  Albion  and  Albanius  were 
brought  into  service  in  this  opera. 

Cinthia  and  Endimion,  or  the  Loves  of  the  Dieties,  writ- 
ten by  Thomas  Durfey  and  dedicated  to  the  Earl  of  Romney, 
was  designed  for  presentation  before  Queen  Mary.  After 
her  death  it  was  given  v/ith  success  at  the  Theatre  Royal 
in  1697  and  was  printed  in  quarto  the  same  year.  This 
opera  is  partly  in  verse  and  partly  in  prose,  and  has  in  it 
some  fine  lines.  There  is  a  double  plot,  one  dealing  with  low 
comedy,  while  the  other  connects  itself  with  the  gods.  It 
has  an  antimasque.  The  long  list  of  names  and  characters 
in  the  opera  represents  the  virtues  and  vices  of  human  na- 
ture e.  g.,  Cupid  representing  desire,  wanton  and  unsatisfied ; 
Pan,  ignorance  and  cruelty;  Syrinx,  irregular  passion, 
treachery  and  envy ;  and  a  number  of  others. 

The  story  is  taken  from  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  with  con- 
siderable perversion  of  characters,  and  from  Apuleius'  Gol- 
den Ass.  The  scene  lies  in  Ionia  and  on  Mount  Latmos. 
Endimion  is  in  love  with  Cinthia  and  is  loved  by  Syrinx. 
The  latter  gets  a  sleeping  potion  from  Pan  which  he  gives 
to  Endimion  as  from  Cinthia.  Endimion  drinks,  with  the 
result  that  he  falls  into  a  deep  sleep  from  which  he  is 
awakened  by  a  kiss  bestowed  by  Cinthia.  Also  in  this  kiss 
is  involved  the  test  of  the  love  of  Psyche  for  Cupid.  At  the 
conclusion  all  turns  out  properly,  for  the  good  are  rewarded 
and  the  evil  punished. 

The  World  in  the  Moon,  our  first  comic  opera,  was  writ- 
ten by  Elkanah  Settle  and  presenter!  nf  Dorset  Garden  in 
1697.  It  was  published  in  quarto  the  same  year.  The  opera 
is  dedicated  to  Christopher  Rich,  the  manager  of  the  theatre, 
who  expended  great  sums  of  money  for  decorations  in  order 
to  be  assured  of  success  for  the  opera. 

The  music  was  composed  by  Jeremy  Clark  and  Daniel 
Purcell.  The  cast  included  Williams,  Powell,  Penkethman, 
Mrs.  Verbruggen,  Mrs.  Powell  and  Joe  Haines  in  his  propria 
persons.    This  opera  is  interesting  as  throwing  light  on 


46  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

several  points  of  the  contemporary  theatre.  It  snows  that 
people  dodged  in  and  out  of  the  playhouse  very  much  at 
their  pleasure.  If  one  left  before  the  play  was  over,  he  was 
not  required  to  pay  the  fee.  The  opera  mentions  that  the 
performance  is  ''half  over  by  seven  o'clock."  Another  con- 
vention is  seen  in  that  women  of  doubtful  character  wore 
masks,  so  that  at  this  time  mask  was  used  synonymously 
with  harlot. 

There  are  two  plots  to  the  opera  and  Settle  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  manage  them.  The  first  plot  connects  itself  with  the 
"Widow  Dawkins,"  who  brings  her  son  Tom  to  town  to 
request  from  her  landlord,  Wildblood,  a  change  in  the  lease. 
Wildblood  takes  Tom  to  the  opera  where  his  simplicity  fur- 
nishes much  amusement.  In  the  second  plot  Palmerin 
Worthy,  a  young  man  of  excellent  moral  character  is  in  love 
with  Jacintha  Stanmore.  He  has  sacrificed  his  entire  for- 
tune to  sustain  the  honor  of  his  brother,  and  is  therefore 
financially  unprepared  to  marry.  Jacintha's  father  opposes 
Worthy,  and  in  stead  selects  for  his  daughter's  husband  a 
rich  old  widower  named  Fondlove.  At  first  Jacintha  is 
much  disconcerted  but  finally  consents  to  the  marriage  on 
certain  conditions,  one  of  which  is  that  Fondlove  shall  steal 
her  at  night  from  her  father's  home.  He  consents,  and  is 
caught  in  a  very  embarrassing  situation,  to  extricate  him- 
self from  which  he  returns  to  Worthy  the  estate  which  he 
has  fraudulently  secured  from  him.  Then  of  course  Ja- 
cintha's  father  consents  to  her  union  with  her  lover. 

In  this  opera  the  machines  and  scenery  are  so  elaborate 
as  to  demand  especial  consideration.  The  curtain  rises  and 
discovers  a  ''palace  with  a  new  arch  richly  decorated  with 
gold."  The  ceiling  is  painted  with  the  figure  of  Majesty 
richly  seated  on  a  globe  encircled  with  glory  and  attended 
by  Cupids.  Later  the  scene  discovers  three  grand  arches 
of  clouds,  filled  with  figures  of  Cupids.  A  cloud  rolls  away 
and  a  silver  moon,  fourteen  feet  in  diameter,  appears,  in 
which  is  a  world  consisting  of  "four  grand  circles  of  clouds 
illustrated  with  Cupids."  Twelve  chariots  filled  with  twelve 
children  representing  the  twelve  celestial  signs  are  seen 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL 47 

"riding  the  clouds."  The  third  arch  entirely  rolling  away, 
leaves  the  full  prospect  terminating  with  a  large  landscape 
of  woods,  waters,  towns.  ''Cinthia's  train  of  twenty  singers 
and  other  routine  enters  and  after  some  music  there  is  a 
dance  of  four  swans."  To  them  enter  five  green  men  upon 
which  the  swans  take  wing  and  fly  into  the  heavens. 

In  the  second  act  during  a  symphony  of  music  a  palace  of 
Cinthia,  ''near  twenty  foot  high,"  appears  with  the  clouds  of 
the  moon.  The  palace  is  supported  upon  twelve  pillars  of 
lapis  lazuli,  fluted  with  golden  darts  and  shafted  with  silver. 
In  a  later  scene  another  palace  ''near  thirty  foot  high"^  even 
more  elaborate  is  set  off  with  a  vista  of  "Dorick  pillars  of 
Egyptian  marble  terminating  in  a  triumphal  arch."i  The 
fourth  act  opens  with  a  "wood  near  thirty  feet  high."  "An 
imperial  bed  appears  on  the  stage  of  crimson  silk,  enrich'd 
and  furrd  with  gold,  and  other  ornaments  *  *  *  rp^j^ 
lying  in  it."  "Two  dancers  enter  who  are  immediately  inter- 
rupted by  thunder.  The  bed  and  all  the  furniture  drop 
down  under  the  stage."^  The  last  scene  is  Cinthia's  bower, 
"being  a  prospect  of  terras  walk  of  eight  several  stages  one 
above  the  other,  each  stage  contains  a  range  of  stonework 
extending  from  side  to  side"^  highly  decorated.  "On  thirty- 
two  pedestals  are  planted  sixteen  golden  flower-pots  and  six- 
teen statues  of  gods  and  goddesses.  Through  the  centre  ad- 
vancing twenty -four  foot  high,  is  an  ascent  of  marble  steps. 
This  set  of  scenes  is  encompass'd  round  with  arborage-work, 
circled  round  with  double  festoons  of  flowers  tyed  up  in  rib- 
bons of  gold  terminating  at  fifty  foot  deep,  with  a  prospect 
of  a  garden  above  the  highest  terrace.  Above  fifty  figures 
are  seen  upon  the  several  terras's,  some  of  which  descend 
upon  the  stage  for  entertainment."^ 

In  1699  two  operas  are  recorded,  Rinaldo  and  Armida, 
and  the  Island  Princess.  The  first  of  these  is  called  on  its 
title  page  a  tragedy,  but  it  is  really  a  "serious  opera."  It 
was  written  by  John  Dennis  and  presented  in  1699  at  Little 
Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  with  Betterton  and  Mrs.  Barry  in  the 
title  roles.  It  was  dedicated  to  His  Grace  the  Duke  of 
Ormond.    The  music  was  composed  by  John  Eccles. 

1     Stage   Directions. 


48  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

The  action  is  placed  in  the  time  of  the  first  Crusade.  Rin- 
aldo,  the  leader  of  the  Christian  army,  is  conveyed  to  the 
top  of  a  mountain  in  the  Canaries  by  the  power  of  Armida, 
a  heathen  enchantress,  who  has  fallen  in  love  with  him. 
Here  Rinaldo  becomes  enamoured  of  Armida  and  they  pass 
their  lives  in  pleasure.  But  in  order  that  Jerusalem  may 
be  taken  by  the  Christians,  Rinaldo  must  be  found,  so 
Ubaldo,  Carlo  and  Urania  are  sent  for  him.  When  he  learns 
their  mission,  he  is  distracted  between  love  for  fame  and 
love  for  Armida,  but  decides  to  leave  her.  In  consequence 
she  stabs  herself  but  dies  happily  on  learning  that  Rinaldo 
shall  soon  be  reunited  to  her.  Rinaldo  wishes  for  death  at 
Jerusalem  that  he  may  be  restored  to  Armida. 

The  plot,  as  may  readily  be  seen,  is  founded  on  Tasso's 
Jerusalem  Delivered,  and  in  parts  has  considerable  merit. 

The  Island  Princess,  or  the  Generous  Portuguese,  Fletch- 
er's play  of  the  first  title,  changed  into  an  opera  by  Peter 
Antony  Motteux,  was  presented  at  Drury  Lane  in  1699  and 
published  the  same  year  with  a  second  edition  in  1701.  The 
music  was  written  by  Daniel  Purcell,  Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr. 
Leveridge.  Whincop  says  the  opera  was  given  ''with  great 
applause,"  while  Dibdin  claims  it  ''had  but  little  success." 
Miss  Campion,  whose  brilliant  career  was  soon  to  be  ended 
by  death,  gained  considerable  reputation  by  her  singing  in 
this  opera.  The  Island  Princess  was  revived  in  1702  when 
the  bill  specified  that  Mr.  Leveridge  would  perform  in  the 
part  of  the  opera  which  he  had  written.  December  the  tenth, 
1739,  witnessed  another  revival  at  Covent  Garden. 

The  principal  variation  from  Fletcher's  drama  are  as 
follows:  A  considerable  portion  of  the  text  is  omitted, 
entire  scenes  at  times  being  left  out.  The  speeches  of  the 
individual  characters  are  curtailed  and  the  character  of 
Quisana,  the  aunt  of  Quisara,  has  not  been  introduced  at 
all.  Lines  have  been  taken  from  one  person  and  assigned 
to  another.  In  the  original  Quisara  becomes  insane,  while 
in  the  latter  she  is  simply  imprisoned.  In  the  essential  facts, 
however,  the  plots  remain  the  same.  Motteux  has  managed 
in  some  way  to  draw  his  characters  so  as  to  make  them 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  49 

mere  shadows  of  Fletcher's.  There  seems  to  be  a  conscious 
striving  to  eliminate  coarseness,  both  apparent  and  implied, 
both  in  language  and  in  plot. 

The  operatic  elements  are  seen  in  the  entertainments  of 
music  and  dancing  presented  to  celebrate  the  king's  return, 
in  the  scene  where  Armusia,  while  lying  in  an  orange  grove, 
is  entertained  by  the  singing  of  a  clown  and  of  his  wife,  in 
the  incantation  to  musical  accompaniment  by  the  brahmin 
and  his  attendants,  and  in  the  mournful  musical  accom- 
paniment to  the  last  act.  The  Four  Seasons,  while  not  an 
organic  part  of  this  opera,  was  played  in  connection  with 
it.  This  musical  interlude,  the  author  states,  was  designed, 
however,  for  another  season  and  another  occasion.  It  was 
written  by  Motteux,  the  music  being  supplied  by  Jeremy 
Clarke. 

The  opening  year  of  the  eighteenth  century  witnessed  the 
performance  at  Drury  Lane  of  J.  Oldmixon's  opera,  The 
Grove  or  Lov^e's  Paradise.  The  author  in  his  preface  ac- 
quaints the  critics  with  the  fact  that  this  play  is  neither  a 
translation  nor  a  paraphrase ;  that  the  story  is  entirely  new, 
and  that  it  was  first  intended  for  a  pastoral,  though  in  the 
last  three  acts  the  dignity  of  the  characters  raised  it  into 
the  form  of  a  tragedy.  It  was  published  in  quarto  in  1700, 
v/ith  an  epilogue  written  by  Farquhar.  The  music  was  com- 
posed by  Daniel  Purcell.  The  cast  included  among  others. 
Gibber,  Mills,  Powell,  Mrs.  Oldfield  and  Mrs.  Rogers. 

The  scene  presents  a  province  of  Italy  near  the  Gulf  of 
Venice.  At  the  opening  of  the  play,  Aurelia,  the  daughter 
of  the  emperor,  is  talking  to  some  ladies,  when  a  messenger 
announces  that  the  emperor  of  Greece  is  going  to  visit  her 
and  her  husband,  whose  real  name  is  Eudosius,  but  who 
goes  by  the  name  of  Amintor.  Aurelia  manifests  great  agi- 
tation at  this  announcement  because  she  has  married  con- 
trary to  her  father's  wishes.  A  number  of  thrilling  situa- 
tions develop  but  all  work  out  happily  and  she  is  recon- 
ciled to  her  father. 

Of  the  Fletcherian  tragi-comedy,  The  Mad  Lover,  as  an 
opera  our  knowledge  is  limited  to  the  brief  notices  in  the 


50 OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

Biographia  Dramatica,  which  say  that  with  the  masque, 
Acts  and  Galatea,  published  without  date,  are  "the  musical 
entertainments  in  an  opera  called  The  Mad  Lover,''  The 
masque  was  performed  presumably  in  1701  at  the  Theatre 
Royal  in  Drury  Lane  by  His  Majesty's  servants.  An- 
other performance  of  which  we  have  not  the  date  seems  to 
have  occurred  at  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields.  Acts  and  Galatea  was 
published  quarto  1701.  Dibdin  calls  it  a  "musical  trifle"  for 
which  John  Eccles  supplied  the  music. 

In  the  same  year  (1701)  another  opera  was  presented 
at  Drury  Lane.  It  was  called  The  Virgin  Prophetess,  or  the 
Fate  of  Troy  and  was  written  by  Elkanah  Settle  and 
dedicated  to  Sir  Charles  Duncomb,knt.  The  musical  en- 
tertainment in  this  opera  was  furnished  by  Mr.  Finger. 
Dibdin  says  notwithstanding  Rich  did  his  utmost  to  pop- 
ularize this  opera,  it  had  little  success.  In  the  cast  were 
Mills,  Wilkes,  Mrs.  Rogers  and  Mrs.  Oldfield. 

The  plot  is  founded  on  the  tale  of  Troy.  Diana  descends 
in  chariot  and  tells  Cassandra  that  Troy's  fate  may  be  re- 
versed by  the  sacrifice  of  a  royal  maiden  to  Grecian  swords. 
Cassandra  goes  to  the  camp  of  the  Greeks,  seeking  death, 
but  Menelaus  sends  her  back  to  Troy  in  safety.  Cassandra 
is  represented  as  guardian  of  Astianax.  She  has  a  robed 
statue  of  Diana  and  in  praying  to  this  deity,  she  is  in  the 
habit  of  kissing  the  robe.  Alcestis,  eager  for  the  death  of 
the  prophetess,  poisons  the  robe,  which  is  kissed  shortly 
afterwards  by  Astianax,  who,  maddened  by  the  poison, 
dies.  In  the  last  act  Troy  is  captured  and  burned;  Mene- 
laus kills  Paris,  Helen  leaps  into  the  flames,  while  Cassan- 
dra's fate  is  left  in  uncertainty.  Genest's  remarks  are  quite 
apropos :  "Settle's  harangue  is  bad  and  his  deviations  from 
the  real  story  are  disgusting.  In  every  respect  this  is  a 
wretched  piece;  but  if  the  scenes  were  executed  according 
to  description,  it  must  have  been  a  fine  spectacle.  In  the 
first  act  six  white  elephants  were  introduced,  an  absurdity 
hardly  excusable  even  in  an  opera." 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  ITALIAN  OPERA  IN  ENGLAND 

After  the  presentation  of  the  last  opera  the  tendency 
toward  Italian  opera  became  marked.  So  it  was  an  impor- 
tant occasion  in  the  history  of  opera  when  on  January  16, 
1705,  at  Drury  Lane,  came  the  performance  of  Arsinoe, 
Queen  of  Cypress,  written  by  Peter  Motteux  and  furnished 
with  music  by  Thomas  Clayton.  This  piece  is  interesting 
as  being  the  first  Anglicized  opera  with  Italian  music, 
sung  in  England.  Hawkins  quotes  Mr.  Addison  as  saying 
that  Arsinoe  was  the  first  opera  that  gave  the  English  a 
taste  of  Italian  music.  Mr.  Addison  also  states  that  it  met 
with  great  success,  and  he  afterward  suffered  Clayton  to 
furnish  the  score  for  Rosamond,  so  it  may  be  inferred 
that  he  thought  it  a  fine  composition.  But  a  better  judge 
(the  translator.  Abbe  Raguenet's  Parallel)  pronounces  it 
with  the  exception  of  Rosamond  the  most  execrable  per- 
formance that  ever  disgraced  the  stage.  The  libretto  is  an 
adaptation  of  the  Italian  original,  while  the  music  is  a 
combination  and  variation  of  Italian  airs  to  which  Clayton 
tried  to  give  unity.  Clayton  thus  prefaces  the  Book  of  the 
Opera,  'The  design  of  this  entertainment  being  to  intro- 
duce the  Italian  manner  of  music  on  the  English  stage, 
v/hich  has  not  been  before  attempted,  I  was  oblig'd  to  have 
an  Italian  opera  translated,  in  which  the  words,  however, 
mean  in  several  places,  suited  much  better  with  the  manner 
of  musick,  than  others  more  poetical  would  do.  The  style 
of  this  musick  is  to  express  the  passions,  which  is  the  soul 
of  musick.  And  though  the  voices  are  not  equal  to  the 
Italian,  yet  I  have  engaged  the  best  that  were  to  be  found 
in  England,  and  I  have  not  been  wanting,  to  the  utmost  of 
my  diligence,  in  the  instructing  them.  The  musick  being 
in  recitative,  may  not,  at  first  meet  with  their  general  ac- 
ceptation, as  is  to  be  hoped  for  from  the  audiences  being 


52  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

better  acquainted  with  it,  but  if  this  attempt  shall,  by  pleas- 
ing the  nobility  and  gentry,  be  a  means  of  bringing  this 
manner  of  musick  to  be  used  in  my  native  country,  I  shall 
think  all  my  study  and  pains  well  employed." 

The  cast  included  Mrs.  Tofts,  Mrs.  Cross,  Mrs.  Lindsay, 
Hughes  and  Leveridge.  Arsinoe  did  not  suit  the  voice  of 
Margarita  de  TEpine,  who  sang  only  in  Italian,  so  the 
part  of  the  prima  donna  was  assigned  to  Mrs.  Tofts,  who, 
therefore,  was  the  first  prima  donna  who  sang  on  the 
English  stage  in  what  was  professedly  the  Italian  opera. 
Arsinoe  seems  to  have  attained  considerable  popularity, 
being  revived  during  the  next  few  years. 

In  1705  was  published  in  quarto  an  opera  called  The 
Royal  Martyr,  King  Charles  I,  by  Alexander  Fyfe.  It  was 
never  acted.  In  1709  the  same  play  was  published  as  a 
tragedy.  Of  it  Genest  fittingly  says  that  it  isj  one  of  the 
vrorst  plays  ever  written.  There  seems  to  be  little  reason 
for  its  being  styled  an  opera  since  it  contains  no  masque, 
no  especial  scenes  and  only  nine  lines  of  music. 

Here  Charles  I  quarrels  with  Parliament  and  Cromwell. 
Many  of  the  issues  of  the  day  are  suggested  and  for  char- 
acters are  taken  among  others  such  men  as  King  Charles, 
Cromwell,  Prince  Rupert,  the  Earl  of  Essex,  and  Sir  Henry 
Vane.  The  queen  also  appears  several  times.  She  visits 
the  king  in  prison  and  while  in  converse  with  him  faints. 
Lady  Buccleugh  is  the  only  other  woman  in  the  play  who 
has  a  speaking  part.  Charles  is  not  beheaded  upon  the 
stage,  although  he  is  led  upon  the  scaffold,  feels  the  edge 
of  the  sword  and  addresses  the  spectators.  After  this  he 
is  led  to  prepare  for  death,  which  is  announced  after  a 
short  interval.  The  last  scene  brings  the  little  Prince  of 
Wales  into  the  presence  of  Cromwell  whom  the  brave  child 
scores  roundly  for  the  murder  of  his  father.  The  play 
closes  with  Cromwell's  star  in  the  ascendant. 

Beginning  February  21,  1706,  at  the  Haymarket,  The 
British  Enchanters,  or  No  Music  Like  Love,  was  presented 
for  twelve  performances.  Betterton,  Booth,  Verbruggen, 
Bowman,  Mrs.  Bracegirdle,  Mrs.  Barry,  and  Mrs.  Bowman 


__  ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  53 

suggest  an  all-star  cast.  The  opera  was  written  by  George 
Granville,  Lord  Lansdowne,  and  was,  according  to  Downes, 
"very  exquisitely  done,  especially  all  the  singing  parts, 
making  love  the  acme  of  all  terrestial,  which  infinitely 
arrided  both  sexes,  and  pleased  the  town  as  well  as  any 
English  modern  opera." 

Coelius,  King  of  Britain,  so  the  story  goes,  insists  that 
his  daughter  Oriana  shall  mary  Constantius,  emperor  of 
Rome.  The  ceremony  is  interrupted  by  the  ill  omens  of  the 
good  enchantress  Urganda,  the  friend  of  Amadis,  Oriana's 
lover.  Amadis  has  killed  Ardan  whose  brother  and  sister 
Arcalaus  and  Arcabon,  plan  vengeance.  After  getting 
Amadis  into  their  power,  Arcabon  advances  to  stab  him, 
but  instead  falls  desperately  in  love  with  him  and  gives 
him  his  freedom.  Amadis  rejects  her  love,  however,  and 
is  again  imprisoned  only  to  be  released  by  Urganda,  who 
gives  him  a  sword.  He  kills  Arcalaus  and  finally  marries 
Oriana.  In  a  later  edition  of  this  opera  Urganda  is  siezed 
with  prophetic  fury  and  proclaims  the  distant  doom  of 
kings  unborn  and  nations  yet  to  come.  And  that  the 
audience  might  not  be  incredulous  the  scene  represented 
Queen  Anne  and  all  the  triumphs  of  Her  Majesty's  reign. 
Dibdin  speaks  of  this  opera  in  these  words :  "The  intention 
of  the  author  was  *  *  *  to  correct  the  monstrous 
extravange  introduced  in  operas  by  something  more  natur- 
ally gratifying  to  the  senses.  *  *  *  This  is  the  most 
complete  of  Landsdowne's  (sic)  works;  *  *  *  there 
are  in  it  many  wretched  defects  *  *  *  those  passages 
that  have  merit  seldom  rise  beyond  mediocrity  *  *  * 
there  is  not  a  single  line  of  great  genius  in  the  whole." 

A  few  weeks  later,  March  7,  1706,  there  was  performed 
at  the  Haymarket  an  opera  called  The  Temple  of  Love, 
consisting  all  of  singing  and  dancing.  The  singing  was 
composed  by  Monsieur  Sidgeon,  and  the  version  into  Eng- 
lish was  made  by  Monsieur  Motteux  from  the  Italian.  Mr. 
I-awrence,  Mr.  Laroon,  Mr.  Cook,  Maria  Gallia  interpreted 
the  singing,  and  there  were  several  other  men  and  women 
for  the  choruses.   The  dances  were  all  made  and  performed 


54  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

by  Frenchmen.  It  lasted  but  six  days  and  answered  not 
their  expectations.  Such  is  the  substance  of  Downes'  re- 
marks. The  prologue  was  spoken  by  Mr.  Booth.  The  scene 
lies  in  Arcadia,  and  the  time  of  the  action  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  presentation.  Burney  says  the  music  was  not 
good,  and  that  it  was  more  German  than  Italian. 

The  plot  and  characters  are  thoroughly  conventional. 
Sylvander,  a  shepherd,  has  been  many  years  in  search  of 
Orinda,  his  betrothed  from  childhood,  from  whom  fate 
has  separated  him.  Of  course  he  sees  her  without  knowing 
her,  falls  in  love  with  her,  and  discovers  after  all  that  she 
is  his  long-sought  sweetheart.  She  has  the  strawberry 
mark  on  her  shoulder.  Thyrsis  and  Phillis,  shepherd  and 
shepherdess,  after  flirtings  on  both  sides  very  properly 
fall  in  love.  There  is  no  complexity  of  plot,  neither  is  there 
skill  in  characterization.  Possibly  the  most  interesting 
thing  that  can  be  said  about  the  opera  is  that  Mrs.  Brace- 
girdle  played  the  part  of  Phillis. 

The  year  1706  marked  the  presentation  of  a  larger  num- 
ber of  operas  than  any  year  prior  to  that  date.  Already  we 
have  recorded  two  operas,  and  there  are  others  to  follow. 
The  comic  opera.  The  Wonders  in  the  Sun,  or  The  King- 
dom of  Birds,  given  at  the  Haymarket,  was  written  by 
Thomas  Durfey,  and  was  dedicated  to  the  celebrated  Kit 
Cat  Club,  and  was  illustrated  with  a  great  variety  of  songs. 
Part  of  the  music  was  by  Draghi.  It  is  said  that  the  num- 
erous songs  of  this  opera  were  written  by  several  of  the 
most  eminent  wits,  of  the  age.  Among  others  which  seem 
to  be  the  work  of  a  writer  superior  to  Durfey,  is  a  song 
entitled  Dame  of  Honour.  "It  is  difficult,"  according  to 
Hawkins,  writing  in  1776,  "to  say  which  is  the  most  to  be 
admired,  the  song  for  the  sentiments,  or  the  air  for  the 
sweetness  of  its  melody.*' 

Gonzales,  a  Spanish  philosopher,  and  his  man  Diego,  so 
runs  the  story,  enter  the  world  of  the  sun.  When  they  are 
in  distress,  the  "daemon"  of  Socrates  appears,  promises 
his  assistance  to  Gonzales  and  then  accompanies  him 
throughout  the  action,  remaining  invisible  to  everybody 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  55 

except  Gonzales  and  Diego.  These  two  are  carried  also  to 
the  kingdom  of  birds,  which  they  explore.  When  they  have 
tarried  a  sufficiently  long  time  in  this  country,  "the  daemon" 
wishes  them  a  pleasant  trip  home  and  then  disappears. 
To  the  great  delight  of  Diego  they  return  to  their  earthly 
habitation. 

Again  in  1706  we  have  Camilla,  the  second  opera  in  the 
Italian  style.  The  libretto  was  the  work  of  Owen  Mac 
Swiney,  while  the  score  is  ascribed  by  Hawkins  to  Bonon- 
cini,  but  the  authorship  of  the  score  has  been  contested. 
The  opera  was  presented  first  at  Drury  Lane  and  after- 
ward at  the  Haymarket.  Mrs.  Tofts  interpreted  the  title 
role  and  by  her  grace,  her  fine  voice  and  acting  she  achieved 
her  greatest  triumph.  Of  Mrs.  Tofts  Gibber  says:  *'She 
took  her  first  grounds  of  music  here  in  our  own  country, 
before  the  Italian  taste  had  so  highly  prevailed,  and  was 
then  not  an  adept  in  it:  yet  whatever  defects  the  fashion- 
ably skillful  might  find  in  her  manner,  she  had  in  the  gen- 
eral sense  of  her  spectators  charm  that  few  of  the  most 
learned  singers  ever  arrive  at.  The  beauty  of  her  fine 
proportioned  figure  and  exquisitely  sweet,  silvery  tone  of 
her  voice,  with  that  peculiar,  rapid  swiftness  of  her  throat, 
were  perfections  not  to  be  imitated  by  art  or  labor."  The 
success  of  this  opera  may  be  attested  by  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  next  four  years  it  was  presented  sixty-four  times. 
In  Camilla  the  roles  which  were  sung  by  the  English  per- 
formers, were  translated  into  English,  while  the  Italians 
sang  in  their  own  language.  Hawkins  says :  "The  conduct 
of  the  whole  was  referred  to  Nicolas  Haym  *  *  * 
an  excellent  musician;  Valentini  performed  the  part  of 
Turnus;  and  notwithstanding  the  inconsistencies  of  the 
performance,  it  is  said  Camilla  never  met  with  so  good  a 
reception  abroad  as  here."  Whincop  sums  up  the  in- 
consistencies of  the  situation  in  the  following  words :  "And 
now  there  was  something  very  ridiculous  in  Italian  opera, 
notwithstanding  the  music  was  good,  and  the  voices  ex- 
quisitely fine ;  for  certainly  none,  not  even  Farinello's,  ever 
went  beyond  Mrs.  Tofts,  and  Niccolini  was  admired  both 


56  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

for  his  voice  and  action ;  but  what  made  them  so  ridiculous 
was  the  strange  mixtures  of  languages.  Mrs.  Tofts,  who 
sung  in  English,  was  addressed  by  Niccolini  in  Italian. 
\'aientini  paid  his  court  to  the  Baroness,  who  performed 
the  part  of  Lavinia,  and  she  answered  him  in  a  kind  of 
Dutch-English.  No  two  lovers  seem  to  understand  each 
other,  but  honest  Dick  Leveridge  in  the  part  of  Linco  and 
My  Dame  Lindsey  in  that  of  Tullia." 

The  story  is  a  sort  of  prototype  of  the  English-Italian 
opera.  Camilla,  supposedly  a  shepherd's  niece,  is  in  reality 
the  queen  of  the  Volscians,  her  father  having  been  de- 
throned. As  Camilla  is  telling  the  story  of  her  misfortunes 
to  Linco,  Prenesto,  the  son  of  King  Latinus,  enters  pur- 
sued by  a  boar.  Camilla,  by  a  sure  aim  of  her  javelin,  kills 
the  boar  and  of  course  wins  the  love  of  the  prince.  She 
then  prevails  upon  the  king,  his  father,  to  grant  her  a  re- 
quest which  proves  to  be  vengeance  upon  the  people  who 
have  dethroned  her  father.  By  this  means  she  is  enabled 
to  arouse  her  own  people  to  redress  her  wrongs.  In  the 
end,  however,  all  comes  out  beautifully  and  she  mitigates 
everything  because  of  her  love  for  Prenesto. 

After  Camilla  came  Addison's  Rosamond,  an  opera  in 
three  acts  vnth.  maisic  by  Clayton.  It  was  unsuccessful  from 
the  first  and  on  later  attempts  to  revive  it,  it  was  scarcely 
more  favorably  received.  The  cast  included  the  best  singers 
of  the  time  in  England,  among  whom  were  Mrs.  Tofts,  Mrs. 
Lindsey,  Signora  Maria  Gallia  (sister  to  Margarita  de 
I'Epine),  Hughes,  Leveridge  and  Holcomb.  Hawkins  says 
relative  to  this  opera:  "A  criticism  of  this  most  wretched 
opera  is  more  than  it  deserves  *  *  *  ^^le  music  pre- 
ponderating against  the  elegance  and  reputation  of  its 
author,  bore  it  down  the  third  night  of  its  presentation." 
Edvv^ards  in  his  Prima  Donna  remarks:  "Strange  that  so 
few  years  after  the  death  of  Purcell,  the  English  should 
have  recognized  as  their  leading  composer — at  least  as  re- 
gards prominence  of  position — one  who,  while  trading  on 
the  accident  of  having  been  born  in  England,  borrowed  his 
airs  from  Italy  and  received  help  in  arranging  them  from 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  57 

a  German  violoncellist  named  Haym,  and  a  French  violin- 
ist named  Dieupart." 

Rosamond  is  of  interest  solely  because  of  its  author.  The 
characters  are  without  form  and  substance,  and  the  situa- 
tions lack  effectiveness.  Curiously  Addison  kills  his  heroine 
in  the  second  act  and  has  no  counterbalancing  force  to 
sustain  the  interest  throughout  the  rest  of  the  play.  The 
short  lines  render  it  unpleasing  as  a  literary  effort,  and 
while  the  verse  has  considerable  lyrical  cadence  the  rhymes 
are  frequently  execrably  bad.  Rosamond's  story  is  the  fam- 
iliar English  tradition  of  Queen  Elinor's  jealousy  of  the 
fair  mistress  of  King  Henry.  Elinor  determines  to  bring 
to  a  close  all  intimacy  of  the  guilty  lovers.  With  that  pur- 
pose she  seeks  Rosamond  in  her  bower  and  compels  her  to 
drain  a  drinking  potion  which  she  pretends  is  poison.  When 
Rosamond  has  become  to  all  appearances  dead,  the  queen 
sends  her  to  a  convent  where  she  intends  for  her  to  remain 
in  confinement  for  the  remainder  of  her  days.  Henry  is 
fearfully  grieved  on  being  told  that  Rosamond  is  dead,  but 
he  relents  toward  Elinor  when  he  learns  the  truth. 

Rosamond  was  succeeded  by  Thomyris,  Queen  of  Scythia, 
presented  at  Drury  Lane  in  1707,  and  at  the  Haymarket 
in  1708.  P.  Motteux  wrote  the  libretto  while  the  airs  were 
selected  from  sundry  foreign  operas  of  Bononcini,  Scar- 
latti, Casparini,  and  Albinoni;  the  recitative  and  accom- 
paniments were  entrusted  to  Pepusch.  Although  most  of 
the  songs  were  excellent,  Thomyris  was  not  at  first  a  suc- 
cess, but  in  the  following  year  with  a  cast  which  included 
Valentini,  Margarita  and  Mrs.  Tofts  it  was  performed  alter- 
nately with  Camilla  for  six  weeks.  For  performance  of  this 
opera,  Heidigger,  manager  of  the  Haymarket,  secured  a 
subscription  from  the  gentry  and  nobility. 

The  plot  of  Thomyris  is  rather  more  interesting  and 
complicated  than  the  general  run  of  Italian-English  operas. 
Cleora,  the  heroine,  is  the  niece  of  Cyrus  and  by  him  has 
been  betrothed  to  Tigranes,  king  of  Armenia,  who,  incog- 
nito, is  taken  prisoner  by  the  Scythians.  His  identity  be- 
comes known  through  Cleora,  who  also  has  been  a  prisoner 


58  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

and  who  has  attracted  the  affections  of  Orontes,  the  son 
and  heir  to  Queen  Thomyris.  Inasmuch  as  Ti.^ranes  and 
Orontes  love  the  same  maiden  one  or  the  other  must  be 
disposed  of.  This  is  accomplished  by  Orontes  giving  Tig- 
ranes  his  liberty  and  making  war  on  him.  Orontes  falls 
into  the  power  of  Tigranes,  who  returns  the  courtesy  which 
Orontes  has  formerly  shown  him.  It  is  agreed  to  settle  the 
claim  to  the  maiden  by  combat,  in  which  Orontes  is  success- 
ful. Thomyris,  who  has  opposed  Cleora,  is  now  won  over, 
and  a  grand  climax  is  reached  amid  the  joys  of  marriage. 

Congreve's  opera  Semele  was  printed  in  quarto  in  1707. 
Whincop  says  it  was  not  acted  when  it  v/as  first  written. 
In  1743  it  was  made  into  an  oratorio  by  Handel  and  was 
given  at  Covent  Garden.  The  story  as  told  by  Ovid  has 
been  altered  to  conform  to  the  characters  of  the  opera. 
The  fable  is  well  conducted.  The  measure  of  the  air  is 
various  and  well-suited  to  the  situations  of  the  dramatis 
personae.  The  author  accounts  for  having  no  regard  for 
rhyme  or  equality  of  measure  in  that  part  of  the  dialogue 
designed  for  recitative,  which  he  says,  is  only  more  tunable 
speaking  and  a  kind  of  prose  in  music. 

The  story  as  its  name  suggests  is  placed  in  the  early 
history  of  Greek  life.  Semele,  the  daughter  of  Cadmus,  is 
to  be  given  in  marriage  to  Athamas,  prince  of  Boeotia. 
Being  loved  by  Jupiter,  she  is  loath  to  celebrate  this  mar- 
riage. When  the  omens  are  sought,  they  prove  unfavor- 
able and  the  wedding  is  postponed.  Semele  is  taken  away 
by  Jupiter,  who  tries  to  keep  her  safe  from  the  malice  of 
Juno.  Through  affecting  the  voice  of  Ino,  Semele's  sister, 
Juno  gains  admission  to  Semele  and  entraps  her  by  per- 
suading her  to  ask  Jupiter  to  come  in  all  his  glory  when 
he  next  visits  her.  Jupiter  promises  to  do  for  her  whatso- 
ever she  requests — only  to  regret  his  madness  when  it  is 
too  late.  He  grants  her  request  but  in  so  doing  brings 
death  and  destruction  upon  her. 

Love's  Triumph,  our  next  opera,  comes  in  the  following 
year  (1708).  It  was  written  by  P.  Motteux  and  was  acted 
at  the  Queen's  Theatre  in  the  Haymarket.    Like  similar 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  59 

productions  of  the  period  it  was  sung  by  a  combination  cast 
of  English  and  Italian  singers,  each  using  his  own  language. 
The  cast  included  Mrs.  Tofts,  Mrs.  Lindsay,  the  Baroness, 
Margarita  de  I'Epine,  Signor  Valentino  and  Mr.  Leveridge. 

In  the  dedication  to  Thomas  Frankland,  Motteux  says: 
"You  know  that  'twas  to  please  one  of  the  best  judges  and 
patrons  of  the  art  that  three  of  the  greatest  composers 
have  each  set  an  act  of  it.  *  *  *  j^  (this  opera)  has, 
at  least,  the  advantage  of  being  more  of  a  piece  and  free 
from  improprieties  than  the  former:  And  if  it  makes  a 
better  appearance,  it  will  not  owe  a  little  to  Mr.  Dieupart, 
for  his  share  in  the  contrivance  of  the  entertainments,  and 
his  supplying  what  recitative  and  other  music  was  neces- 
sary." 

The  opera  is  short ;  the  plot  is  slight ;  the  verse  has  merit. 
The  dances  and  choruses  of  shepherds  and  shepherdesses, 
of  which  there  were  a  goodly  number,  must  have  been  an 
attractive  feature.  The  scene  is  placed  in  the  Arcadian 
land  of  shepherds.  There  are  three  pairs  of  lovers  of  which 
one  pair,  mere  peasants,  serve  for  the  introduction  of  an 
undercurrent  of  humor.  Liso  and  Olindo,  Italian  shepherds, 
are  in  love  with  Eurilla  and  Licisca  respectively.  Liso  and 
Eurilla  are  at  cross  purposes,  as  are  also  Olindo  and  Lisisca. 
After  several  attempts  on  the  part  of  each  maid  to  win 
her  companion's  lover,  all  is  adjusted  satisfactorily  and 
each  is  mated  where  the  heart  responds. 

Pyrrhus  and  Demetrius  was  written  by  Owen  Mac  Swiney 
and  was  presented  at  the  Haymarket  in  1708  and  1709. 
The  music  is  adapted  from  the  Italian  of  Scarlatti,  by  Nicole 
Haym,  and  attained  considerable  popularity.  The  opera  was 
sung  partly  in  English  and  partly  in  Italian  by  a  cast  of 
superior  excellence,  including  Valentini,  Grimaldi,  Mrs. 
Tofts,  Margarita,  the  Baroness,  and  others.  Pyrrhics  and 
Demetrius  was  played  at  increased  prices,  no  less  than 
thirty  times.  The  songs  ''are  short,  simple,  and  elegant 
for  the  time  and  must  have  required  great  talent  in  the 
singers  to  render  them  so  highly  attractive  as  they  appear 
to  have  been," 


6o  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

Clotilda  was  an  opera  of  composite  authorship  and  is 
quite  unimportant.  It  was  made  up  by  Heidigger  and  was 
first  presented  in  England  in  1709.  The  boxes  on  the  stage 
for  the  first  performance  were  advanced  to  fifteen  shillings. 
Bumey  says:  "This  opera  was  composed  *  *  *  half 
in  English  and  half  in  Italian,  as  it  was  performed.  The 
composition  is  not  contemptible;  and  yet  it  seems  to  have 
come  into  the  world  and  gone  out  of  it  so  quietly  as  scarcely 
to  have  left  any  memorial  of  its  existence.'* 

The  predominance  of  the  Italian  spirit  in  the  opera  has 
shown  a  steady  increase  in  part  of  the  audience  for  high 
class  music  and  for  opera  in  the  Italian  form.  The  preface 
to  our  last  opera  before  Handel  will  show  the  prevailing 
conditions:  "When  I  first  designed  the  following  sheets, 
I  proposed  to  myself  three  things,  viz.  In  Eumenes  to  rep- 
resent a  lover  mourning  for  the  loss  of  his  mistress;  next 
in  Altimera,  to  give  a  tender  instance  of  the  most  sublime 
friendship ;  thirdly,  in  the  Regisick  Person  Alarbas  to  mani- 
fest the  large  power  of  beauty.  But  the  poem  being  some- 
time since  drawn  according  to  the  model  of  our  English 
Dramatick  Opera's,  any  person  that  in  the  least  is  acquaint- 
ed with  the  late  performances,  will  easily  account  for  its 
appearing  in  this  manner  before  it  had  passed  the  stage, 
if  they  will  be  pleased  to  observe,  that  the  nature  of  the 
play  will  not  admit  of  its  representation  in  either  house: 
the  opera  theatre  being  wholly  taken  up  with  Italian  airs, 
and  the  other  totally  excluding  the  musical  part." 

Alarhas,  a  dramatic  opera,  was  written  by  a  gentleman 
of  quality,  and  was  printed  in  1709.  The  play  opens  with 
a  conversation  between  Lysander  and  Thrallax,  who  give 
some  idea  of  the  other  characters.  Alarbas  is  a  voluptuary 
prince.  Altimera,  an  Arcadian  lady,  is  too  low  in  rank  for 
his  bride  and  too  proud  for  his  mistress.  Alarbas'  attitude 
to  the  young  lady  is  bold,  at  times  insulting.  In  the  end 
he  seeks  forgiveness;  is  repulsed;  attempts  to  stab  him- 
self ;  is  completely  forgiven  and  it  seems  that  wedding  bells 
will  ring. 

The  scene  is  oil  a  pleasant  "champian"  country,  prospect 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  6i 

of  a  palace  in  the  distance.  Cupid  descends  in  a  chariot 
drawn  by  doves,  into  a  myrtle  grove.  At  another  time  in 
the  grove  of  Proserpine,  enter  two  priests  with  lighted 
tapers  who  tell  Eumenes  that  he  shall  see  his  Angelia,  who 
is  supposed  to  be  drowned.  Angelia  appears  as  a  ghost, 
rebukes  Eumenes  till  he  is  half  insane ;  but  he  is  eventually 
restored  and  all  is  forgiven. 


CHAPTER  V 
FOREIGN  INFLUENCE 

We  have  traced  the  English  opera  from  the  Restoration 
to  the  coming  of  Handel ;  we  must  now  consider  the  foreign 
operas  (other  than  Italian)  and  foreign  influences  of  an 
operatic  nature.  At  the  outset  it  will  be  well  to  note  the 
attitude  of  Charles  II.  to  music. 

On  his  return  to  England,  the  king  rallied  many  of  the 
musicians  of  the  time  of  his  father  to  the  old  church  music. 
But  the  dignity  and  majestic  harmony  of  the  church  music 
of  the  great  Orlando  Gibbon  and  others  of  his  class  did 
not  please  his  majesty.  He  therefore  considered  the  intro- 
duction of  the  gay,  rapid  French  movement  to  which  he 
could  beat  time.  His  changes  were  radical,  as  the  following 
entry  from  Evelyn's  Diary  will  show :  ''One  of  his  majesty's 
chaplains  preached:  after  which  instead  of  the  grave  and 
solemn  wind  music  accompanying  the  organ  was  intro- 
duced a  concert  of  twenty-four  violins  between  every  pause, 
after  the  French  fantastical  light  way,  better  suiting  a 
tavern  or  a  playhouse  than  a  church.  This  was  the  first 
time  of  change  and  now  we  no  more  hear  the  cornet  which 
gave  life  to  the  organ;  that  instrument  is  quite  left  off  in 
which  the  English  were  so  skillful."  But  the  introduction 
of  four  and  twenty  violins  is  not  all  that  bears  testimony 
to  Charles'  effort  to  transplant  French  music.  He  selected 
two  of  the  most  promising  choir  boys,  John  Banister  and 
Pelham  Humfrey,  whom  he  sent  abroad  to  study  French 
music.  Several  years  later,  they  returned  imbued  with 
French  ideas  which  they  subsequently  wove  into  their  com- 
positions. Humfrey  had  studied  under  Lulli,  and  was  strong- 
ly affected  by  the  declamatory  method  of  the  French  theat- 
rical style,  on  which  he  laid  the  foundation  for  a  new  kind 
f  church  music.   He  also  wrote  several  songs  for  dramas. 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  63 

as  Where  the  Bee  Sucks  in  the  Tempest,  and  Wherever  I 
Am  and  Whatever  I  Do  in  the  Conquest  of  Granada,  He 
influenced  English  opera  only  indirectly,  and  then  in  the 
score  through  the  fact  that  Purcell  was  his  pupil.  Purcell, 
however,  was  too  great  an  artist  not  to  be  original  and  his 
training  merely  directed  the  course  of  his  talent.  It  is 
claimed  by  musical  critics  that  Purcell's  music  shows  the 
influence  of  Lulli,  which  may  have  been  due  to  unconscious 
absorption  during  his  youthful  years.  It  is  barely  possible 
that  both  men  were  influenced  by  the  same  Italian  masters 
for  Purcell  acknowledges  an  indebtedness  to  Italian  music. 

Charles*  cordial  reception  of  the  emigre  French  musicians, 
Grabu  and  Cambert,  furnished  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
direct  influence  of  French  opera  upon  that  of  the  English. 
Grabu,  not  as  yet  the  author  of  an  opera  score,  came  to 
England  in  1666  and  was  immediately  appointed  by  the 
king  to  supersede  Banister  as  head  of  His  Majesty's  violins. 
In  1672  (or  1674)  he  appears  to  have  assisted  Cambert  in 
the  preparation  of  Ariadne  for  presentation  in  England. 
Grabu's  position  at  Court  led  Dryden  to  secure  his  collabora- 
tion in  Albion  and  Albaniu^  in  the  preface  to  which  the 
poet  heaped  upon  the  musician  praises  as  profuse  as  they 
were  evidently  insincere  if  we  are  to  judge  from  subse- 
quent action.  This  is  Grabu's  only  English  opera  score  and 
critics  are  unanimous  in  pronouncing  it  worthless.  Grabu 
seems  to  have  lost  favor  during  the  Revolution  but  since  he 
furnished  music  for  Waller's  The  Maid's  Tragedy,  Charlaune 
is  probably  right  in  thinking  he  remained  in  England.  But 
he  must  be  considered  as  lacking  any  influence  on  English 
opera  either  in  the  score  or  in  the  libretto. 

Cambert's  opportunity  to  influence  English  opera  was 
greater.  Arriving  in  England  in  1672,  six  years  later  than 
Grabu,  he  too  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  king  and  was 
given  the  superintendency  of  the  music.  His  operas,  which 
had  succeeded  so  splendidly  in  France  as  to  arouse  the 
jealousy  of  Lulli,  were  given  also  in  England.  Two  of  them, 
Pomona  and  Les  Plaisirs  et  les  Peines  d' Amour,  were  pre- 
sented at  Court  while  Ariadne  was  publicly  performed.  Ac- 


64  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

cording  to  Gildon,  it  was  given  in  English  at  the  Court  in 
1672.  Giles  Jacob  says  an  English  translation  was  given 
at  the  Theatre  Royal  in  Covent  Garden  in  1674  by  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Academy  of  Music,  which  statement  is  sup- 
ported by  Langbaine.  Of  course  it  is  possible  that  there 
were  both  public  and  private  performances.  Edwards  states 
that  two  years  after  Cambert's  arrival,  an  English  version 
of  Ariadni  (sic)  was  presented,  and  adds:  ''Although  he 
(Cambert)  was  not  the  first  musician  who  brought  out 
operas  in  England,  he  was  the  first  who  produced  and  di- 
rected operatic  representations  in  this  country  regularly  and 
continuously."  This  raises  the  interesting  query,  What  did 
he  direct?  Our  records  show  nothing  that  is  continuous 
in  the  operatic  theatre.  Voltaire  declares  that  Cambert's 
''miserable  productions"  greatly  pleased  the  English,  who 
lacked  musical  appreciation.  The  writer  of  the  article  in  the 
Histoire  de  la  Musique  says  to  the  contrary  that  Cambert 
died  of  a  broken  heart,  caused  by  disappointment  at  the 
failure  of  his  operas.  This  latter  statement  seems  the  true 
one  and  has  been  generally  accepted.  These  French  operas 
were  performed  without  any  perceptible  influence  upon  Eng- 
lish opera,  so  that  we  search  in  vain  for  any  evidence  of 
indebtedness  to  French  opera. 

Meanwhile  other  operatic  music  was  being  rendered  in 
England.  February  12,  1667,  Pepys  attended  a  musical  en- 
tertainment which  consisted  of  the  singing  of  one  act  of  an 
opera  as  a  solo  by  its  composer.  Pepys  remarks  are  in  his 
characteristic  vein:  "By  and  by  with  Lord  Bruncker  by 
coach  to  his  house,  there  to  hear  some  Italian  musique :  and 
here  we  met  Tom  Killigrew,  Sir  Robert  Murray  and  the 
Italian  Signor  Baptista  who  hath  composed  a  play  in  Italian 
for  the  opera  which  T.  Killigrew  do  intend  to  have  up ;  and 
here  he  did  sing  one  of  the  acts.  He  himself  is  the  poet  as 
well  as  the  musician ;  which  is  very  much,  and  did  sing  the 
whole  from  the  words  without  any  musique  prickt,  and 
played  all  along  upon  the  harpsicon  most  admirably,  and 
the  composition  most  excellent.  The  words  I  did  not  un- 
derstand and  so  do  not  know  how  they  are  fitted,  but  be- 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  65 

lieve  very  well,  and  all  in  the  recitative  very  fine.  *  *  * 
I  confess  I  was  mightily  pleased  with  the  music."  What 
came  of  Killigrew's  intention  to  stage  this  opera,  we  do  not 
know  for  there  is  no  reference  to  it  elsewhere.  It  seemed 
to  furnish  a  splendid  opportunity  for  the  awakening  of 
interest  in  foreign  opera,  but  nothing  developed  from  it. 
When  this  operatic  concert  was  given,  English  opera  had 
been  going  its  separate  course  for  more  than  ten  years. 

Another  record  of  operatic  activity  is  found  in  Pepys'  ac- 
count of  a  nursery  for  theatres  which  Killigrew  had  under 
consideration.  Among  other  things,  Killigrew  intended  to 
have  four  operas  to  play  six  weeks  at  a  time.  Pepys  does 
not  say  whether  Killigrew  intended  to  bring  over  Italian 
singers  for  the  roles,  but  in  view  of  his  decided  bias  for 
Italian  music,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  did.  Shortly  be- 
fore the  public  performance  of  Ariadne  at  the  Academy, 
Evelyn,  under  date  of  January  5,  1674,  mentions  that  he 
saw  the  first  Italian  opera  ever  given  in  England.  But  as 
in  the  case  referred  to  by  Pepys  the  statement  is  not  cor- 
roborated by  other  authorities.  These  foreign  operas  with 
a  single  exception  were  presented  to  the  aristocracy,  while 
as  we  have  seen  all  English  operas  were  open  to  the  public. 
When  we  realize  that  Charles  II  had  been  on  the  throne  at 
least  twelve  years  (taking  the  earliest  possible  date  for  the 
English  performance  of  Ariadne)  when  the  first  French 
opera  was  given  in  England,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
his  predilection  for  French  music  worked  slowly  with  re- 
gard to  the  transplanting  of  French  operatic  ideas.  More- 
over while  Charles  was  a  resident  of  France  there  is  no 
record  of  the  performance  in  France  of  any  French  operas. 


CHAPTER  VI 
RESUME 

In  conclusion  it  will  be  of  interest  to  gather  a  few  nu- 
merical facts  about  these  operas.  Relative  to  influence  it 
may  be  said  that  one  opera  is  taken  from  the  French ;  nine 
are  directly  from  the  Italian,  and  two  indirectly;  six  or 
more  are  Elizabethan  dramas  made  over;  while  of  the  re- 
mainder three  seem  to  be  of  English  inspiration.  From  the 
French  no  further  influence  germinated.  Italian  influence 
came  with  Arsinoe  in  1705  when  the  dramatic  opera  had 
spent  its  force.  It  infused  the  various  characteristics  of 
the  Italian  opera  into  the  English  opera  and  while  its  own 
librettos  were  practically  worthless  as  literature,  it  in- 
spired construction  of  two  works  of  some  slight  merit  among 
operatic  compositions  after  the  Italian  manner,  Rosamond 
and  Semele.  As  to  date  of  presentation,  it  will  be  noted 
that  four  operas  were  composed  before  the  Restoration, 
one  between  1660  and  1672,  twenty-five  from  1672  to  1705, 
and  twelve  from  1705  to  1710.  Nine  drew  their  subjects 
from  English  history,  one  from  Greek  and  one  from  Persian 
history,  while  at  least  six  owe  their  sources  to  Latin  authors. 
In  point  of  authorship,  Motteux  composed  six,  Davenant 
five,  Dryden  three,  Duff'et,  Durfey,  Settle,  MacSwiney,  two 
each;  seven  operas  remain  anonymous.  Davenant,  Dryden 
and  Shadwell  collaborated  on  The  Tempest.  All  told,  there 
tvere  eleven  authors  who  wrote  one  play  each,  making  a 
grand  total  of  thirty -four  plays  written  by  eighteen  known 
authors. 

The  opera  cultivated  the  taste  for  music  to  such  a  degree 
that  many  musical  numbers  were  inserted  into  the  legiti- 
mate dramas.  In  this  cultivation  of  a  love  for  music,  the 
English  opera  had  aroused  an  appreciation  for  good  music 
which  after  the  death  of  Purcell  could  not  be  satisfied  with- 
out recourse  to  the  Italians.    The  result  was  inevitable. 


ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  67 

Genuine  Italian  opera  came  into  vogue  in  England  and  the 
early  English  opera  disappeared  entirely  from  the  stage 
after  1710  until  1728  when  a  new  species,  the  ballad  opera, 
made  its  appearance.  It  was  a  medley  of  songs,  some 
serious,  some  trivial,  all  ballad-like  and  set  to  music  often 
remarkable  for  its  sweetness  and  melody. 

Among  older  plays  revised  in  operatic  form  and  pre- 
sented by  the  Duke's  Company,  opera  achieved  a  success 
which  incurred  the  malice  and  open  attacks  of  the  King's 
players.  This  company  brought  out  immediately  on  the  ap- 
pearance of  The  Tempest  and  of  Psyche,  The  Mock  Tempest 
and  Psyche  Debauch'd,  intended  as  travesties.  In  this  way 
they  hoped  to  regain  the  patronage  which  had  temporarily 
left  their  houses.  So  trite  were  the  performances  that  they 
soon  passed  into  an  oblivion  richly  deserved.  More  potent 
adverse  criticism  came  in  the  satire  of  The  Rehearsal  and 
in  the  essays  of  Dennis,  Euvremont  and  others.  That  these 
men  sharpened  their  wits  to  strike  this  form  of  drama  is 
itself  evidence  of  its  popularity. 

Of  all  the  operas  that  have  been  mentioned.  King  Arthur 
alone  is  acted  today  and  that  infrequently.  Some  of  its 
patriotic  airs,  however,  are  yet  familiar  to  the  British  pub- 
lic. In  1895  Dido  and  Aeneas  was  revived  to  be  given  at 
the  memorial  celebration  of  the  bicentennial  of  the  death  of 
Purcell.  The  operas  of  Dryden,  Davenant  and  Shadwell 
and  possibly  one  or  two  others  are  familiar  to  special  stu- 
dents inasmuch  as  their  works  are  fairly  accessible.  The 
other  extant  operas  are  to  be  found  in  the  British  Museum, 
although  the  libraries  of  our  country  are  the  possessors  of 
some  rare  editions.  The  operas  of  Purcell  have  been  printed 
in  the  publications  of  the  Purcell  Society  and  Musical  An- 
tiquarian Society,  but  these  editions  are  almost  as  rare  as 
early  copies. 

With  the  exception  of  the  operas  of  Dryden,  Addison 
and  Congreve  and  in  a  less  degree  Davenant,  Dennis  and 
Granville,  the  operas  written  in  verse  can  hardly  by  any 
stretch  of  the  term  be  called  poetry.  The  prose  operas,  ex- 
cept as  made  over  from  plays,  have  no  artistic  merit. 


68  OPERATIC  PERFORMANCES  IN 

As  to  the  distinctively  foreign  operas,  it  seems  that  two 
ItaHan  and  three  French  operas  were  given  in  England 
before  1675,  but  they  left  absolutely  no  impress  upon  the 
English  opera.  So  far  foreign  and  English  opera  was  main- 
tained side  by  side,  each  uninfluenced  by  the  other.  From 
1675  to  1705  foreign  operas  disappeared  entirely.  A  few 
years  previous  to  this  last  date  Italian  opera  began  to  exert 
an  unmistakable  influence  upon  English  opera.  Italians, 
attracted  by  the  popularity  of  the  solo  parts  of  English 
operas,  came  to  England  to  sing  in  concert.  These  singers 
gradually  prepared  the  public  for  the  appreciation  of  opera 
in  the  air  and  recitative  of  the  Italian  fashion.  When 
Italian  influence  first  exerted  itself,  an  opera  was  rendered, 
partly  in  English  and  partly  in  Italian.  Then  Italian  libret- 
tos were  translated  in  English  and  English  partly  rendered 
into  Italian.  This  unnatural  condition  of  affairs  lasted  until 
1711  when  words  and  music  were  characterized  by  genuine 
Italian  spirit.  Under  the  leadership  of  Handel,  Italian  opera 
held  sway  for  the  next  fifteen  years. 


APPENDIX 

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ENGLAND  BEFORE  HANDEL  73 


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